I Got Midtown
by theater104
Summary: The boys thought it was just to spread the word on the strike, but it was more than that. Much more.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Yes, I own Newsies! *wakes up from dream* Dang it!**

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><p>Race sat on top of his usual table, sipping a glass of water, cigar resting between his fore and middle finger. He listened to Davey drone on, using words he didn't understand.<p>

"Well? What do we do now?" Davey asked.

"Now we gotta spread the word. Tell the other newsies from the other cities." Jack said. Race sat up straighter.

"Oh! I'll take Flushings!" Albert exclaimed.

"I'll take Harlem!" Mush volunteered.

"I'll get the Bronx!" Henry called out. Race seized his chance.

"I got Midtown!" He said excitedly. He leapt off the table.

"Whoa, calm down Racer!" Romeo said.

"Specs, you take Queens." Jack ordered. Specs soluted. "Sniper, you take the East Side. Now, who wants Brooklyn?" Race suddenly got interested in his glass of water. "C'mon, Brooklyn. Spot Conlon's turf. Hey Finch, ya mean to tell me you'se is afraid of Brooklyn?" Finch stood up.

"Hey! I ain't afraid of no turf!" He sat back down nervously. "Just... Spot Conlon gets me a little jittery."

"Fine, Davey and I will take Brooklyn." Jack sighed. Davey's eyes grew wide.

"Wait, why me?" He protested.

"Why is everyone so afraid of Brooklyn?" A voice asked. Race turned to see a young woman, the one Jack had tried to make a move on.

"Whaddaya doin here?" Jack asked.

"Asking a question. Have you got an answer?"

"Okay, wake me up when we's are leavin." Race whispered to Albert. He pulled his red cap over his eyes, waiting for Mr. Jacobi to come and kick them out. He got lost in his daydreams, thinking of what he was planning on doing when he got to Midtown. The boys thought it was just to spread the word on the strike, but it was more than that. Much more.

"Shut down a paper like the World, and you're going to make the front page." The woman, Katherine, said before leaving.

"Okay, boys. Time to go. I got paying customers." Race sat back up, and hopped off the table.

"Whoa, whoa!" Race joked. "Ya won't be kickin us out when we's got our mugs in the papes!" The newsies cracked up at his little joke as they ran back to the lodging house.

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><p>Lydia paced back and forth behind her locked door, waiting for the suitor her father had brought in to leave. She didn't know this suitor, but if he was anything like the other 17 men her father had brought in for her to court, she was going to hate him. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was already courting someone. Someone she shouldn't even know, but a person she thanked God that she did.<p>

"Lydia?" Her mother asked, knocking on Lydia's door. "Lydia, open the door. Your father wants you to come back downstairs." Lydia pretended she wasn't on the other side of the door, but her mother was smart enough to know she was really there. "Lydia Karlin! Mr. Patterson is a very nice man. Come downstairs to talk to him!" Lydia took a deep breath, pulled out the silver key from her pocket, and unlocked the door. Her mother was standing there, hands on her hips.

"Yes, Mother?" Lydia asked, plastering a fake smile on her face. Mrs. Karlin pursed her lips.

"Lydia, come back downstairs now. At least talk to Mr. Patterson."

"How old is he, Mother?" Lydia felt very uncomfortable at the idea of courting someone a lot older than her.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Mother, I'm barely sixteen. You know how I feel about this. Can't we put this off for a few years or something?"

"Darling, I know how you feel, but this is the age when you have to start looking for a boy to marry. You are no longer a child!" Lydia through her hands in the air, exasperated.

"I know, I know but-"

"No buts. Lets go." Lydia sighed, following her mother downstairs. Standing in her dining room was her father and a man in his late twenties. The man was smoking a cigar, laughing at something her father had said.

"Ah, good, you're back." Mr. Karlin said. "William, this is my daughter, Lydia. Lyd, I'd like you to meet Mr. William Patterson." William stuck his hand out for Lydia to shake.

"Pleasure to meet you." He said. Lydia smiled meekly. _His hands are sweaty, so he's nervous. _She thought. _He is still wearing his hat inside, so he either forgot, or he's too impolite to take it off. And he's not looking me in the eye, so where is he looking? _She followed his line of vision to her chest. _Oh, thats what he's looking at. _Her instincts took over. Not quite knowing what she was doing, Lydia slapped him, hard. She stared at William's shocked face, hearing her mother's shocked scream.

"Lydia!" She turned to face her steaming father, realizing what she had done. There was silence. Mr. Karlin straightened his back, at pointed at the stairs. Lydia opened her mouth to apologize, but no sound came out. She turned her back to the three adults, and bounded up the stairway.

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><p>"Ain't this gonna great, Race?" Romeo exclaimed, as excited as a schoolgirl talking about her crush.<p>

"Yeah, yeah." Race replied, staring straight ahead, lost in his daydream. The younger newsy knocked on the older's head.

"Hey, I'm over here ya know!" Race gave him a look, but turned to face the boy. "Whatcha thinkin bout?"

"Nothin…"

"I know that look." Romeo said. "You'se is thinkin bout a goil, ain't ya?"

"How'd ya know?"

"Cause I give that look at least once a day." Race laughed, ruffling his little brother's dark hair. "So, whats she like?"

"She's… different than most goils. She's real smart, and she looks like she had fallen straight from heaven and-"

"Ya say she's different from most goils, but ya just described every goil I've ever seen."

"Ah, shut it." Race said, shoving Romeo off his creaking, unmade bed. That was pointless, because he leapt right back on.

"So, it that why ya wanna go to Midtown so badly."

"Wow, youse is super smart, ain't ya." Race said sarcastically. "Now, follow the others examples, and get ready for bed, will ya?" Romeo rolled his eyes, but got of his bed. Race unbuttoned his foul smelling plaid shirt, feeling a rush of cool air hit his chest through his deep red undershirt. Usually, the sound of crazy newsboys drowned out any other thoughts, but somehow Race was able to tune out the other boys. He climbed into his bed, thinking about the next day. Half an hour later, the noises died down as the boys went to bed.

"Race… Racer!" Race's eyes snapped open. A dark silhouette was standing over him. Race lit the oil lamp next to his bed to see Romeo next to his bed.

"God, Romeo! I'm tryin to sleep!" Romeo snickered. Race sat up in his bed. "Whaddaya want?"

"Ya didn't tell me her name."

"Huh?" Race rubbed his eyes.

"Ya didn't tell me the goil's name." Race raised his eyebrows.

"Really, that's why ya woke me up?"

"Yep. And I ain't gonna go back to sleep till ya tell me." Race sighed. He settled back into his bed, his back to Romeo.

"Lydia." He whispered. "Lydia Karlin." Race shut his eyes, and didn't see Romeo's scared face or hear his strangled gasp.

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><p><strong>If you read Questions Worth Answering, there is a chapter that raises the question of why Race is always at Midtown. You might not have noticed this little tidbit in the actual show, but I did. And this is my answer. <strong>

**Slight cliff hanger, but this will be a multi-chapter, so don't feral out too much. I realize I write a lot of stories with Race and Romeo, but I'm a fansie through and through, and they are my favorite newsies. I also realize I create a lot of OCs, but don't judge me for it! Anyways, please review. If you have ideas for one-shots, chapters for QWA, or for this thing, please let me know. Newsies forever, second to none!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Lydia Jane Karlin!" Her mother exploded. It was the next morning, and Mrs. Karlin was yet again yelling at her daughter. Lydia was humming a little tune to herself as she wrote in a leather bound notebook, purposefully acting aloof to her mother. "Lydia! Put down that pen and talk to me!" Lydia looked up, staring at her mother with wide eyes.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" She asked.

"Will you please explain what happened last night?" Lydia's shoulders slumped.

"There's nothing to talk about, last night was self explanatory." Truth be told, Lydia was trying her hardest to avoid talking about what had happened the previous evening.

"Darling, you don't understand how important that meeting was. Your father was going to get so much money from William and-"

"Wait," Lydia stood up, cutting of her mother. "How was Father going to get money from me courting Mr. Patterson?" Mrs. Karlin paled. "Mother? What are you not telling me?"

"Well, darling, William's father is a very rich man and he wants his son to get married. And… he was paying your father a great deal of money for your courtship… and eventually… your marriage." Lydia just stood, mouth open.

"Father… was going to marry me off… for _money_!" Tears were brimming in the young girl's eyes. "No… he wouldn't… he would never…" Mrs. Karlin opened her arms out to hug her daughter, but Lydia pushed her away, the tears falling down her pale cheeks.

"Lydia, please…" She ran out of her room, and down the stairs, where her father was standing there, his brows furrowed with worry.

"Lydia, I heard you crying upstairs. Are you alright?" Lydia refused to look at her father, staring at the ground instead.

"That depends. Why didn't you tell me this was all a way to get money?" Mr. Karlin shifted uncomfortably. "Father… why didn't you tell me?"

"Lyd… Darling…" He tried to put his hand on her shoulder. Lydia swatted away, recoiling at his touch.

"No! No _Lyds_! No _Darlings_!" She was screaming by now, crying freely. "I… I thought I was more than… than something you can sell to the highest bidder!"

"Lyd! Listen to me! Let me explain!"

"No! Just…" She couldn't even finish her sentence. "Just…" She pushed her mother out of the way of the staircase, running back up into her room. Lydia locked her door, feeling empty and betrayed. She heard pounding on her door, again.

"Lydia, please. Let us explain!" She didn't reply. Instead, she peeled off her nice dress, throwing it on the floor, pulling on her oldest shirt, a plain navy blue blouse, and her long gray skirt. Lydia grabbed a small satchel, shoving a few dollars and her journal into it. She didn't know if this was the smartest idea, but at that moment, she was to hurt to even care.

"Goodbye," She whispered. She opened her window, climbed out onto the fire escape, and ran into the busy streets of Midtown New York.

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><p>"Aw, c'mon, Tracker! We can pull it off!" Race pleaded to the Midtown newsies leader.<p>

"Sorry, kid." Tracker replied. "We's are gonna join ya, as soon as Spot says its smart to." Race sighed. _What's so great bout Spot Conlon? _He thought. Race knew better than to argue with a Midtown newsy, but it bugged him how stubborn they could be. He shoved his hat back on his head, ready to go home. "Look, we'll come when Brooklyn comes. No faster, no slower." Race shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine," He said, turning towards the door. "Hope to see ya round." He left the lodging house in silence, his ears turning slightly pink from embarrassment.

He kept his cap over his eyes, weaseling his way through the busy streets. He didn't mean to, but he picked up bits of conversations as he passed by, and gave his own opinion on the topics.

"Fresh fish!" A merchant cried. _I doubt it. _Race thought.

"Handmade jewelry!" _Looks fake. _He observed.

"What's a pretty thing like you doin out here all alone?" A jeering voice asked. Race perked up. "A little lost? We can help ya."

"Oh no. Thank you." A familiar voice replied, fear lingering in the tone. Race's eyes grew wide as he ran towards the voice. Standing in an alleyway were three men gathered around a teenaged girl. Race instantly recognized her.

"Lyd!" He called out. Lydia turned her head. One of the men grasped her wrist as another stepped towards Race.

"Whaddaya want?" The man snarled. "We's are kinda busy." Race kept a straight face, trying to come up with a plan.

"Well… I dunno if my… uncle would want ya messin round with my… cousin. But if ya wanna get arrested, that's fine by me." The third man, who was just standing doing nothing, looked a little scared.

"Wha… Whaddaya mean?" He asked. Race shrugged his shoulders.

"My uncle's a cop." He lied. Somehow, the three believed him. The man holding on to Lydia, who looked no older than seventeen, gently pushed her towards the sandy haired boy, and the three ran away. Lydia wrapped her arms around Race, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Tony…" She whispered.

"Hey, Lyd." He whispered back.

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><p>"So, what <em>are <em>ya doin by yourself?" Race asked, his hand clasped around Lydia's. _His hands are really calloused. _She thought to herself.

"Um…" She wasn't sure how to reply. "I kind of ran away…" Lydia blushed. Race stared at her like she was crazy.

"Ya ran away from a family with a real nice house and a whole lot of money for what? Whaddaya plannin on doin now? Where ya gonna sleep at night? Do ya have all the things ya need?" Lydia looked into Race's crystal blue eyes.

"Huh, didn't think that far ahead." She admitted. "How do you know about all that stuff?"

"Ya ain't the only one that ran away." He laughed quietly. "Hungry?" Lydia shrugged.

"I could eat." Race led her to a bakery. She read the address. "208 West 41st Street."

"Used to be my favorite when I was younger." He told her. That made Lydia really want to go in.

The two sat at a corner table, sipping cups of coffee and snacking on donuts that weren't hard and moldy. Lydia laughed at how excited Race had been to eat fresh food.

"What? Haven't you ever eaten normal food before?" She asked as he gorged himself. "Slow down!" He barely looked up.

"Have ya ever seen the food we get back in Manhattan?" He asked her, his mouth full.

"Can't say I have."

"Well, it ain't this appetizing." She giggled. Race wiped away the coffee with his sleeve.

"How are things going back in Manhattan anyway? I haven't been seeing you lately." Lydia noticed Race's facial expressions cloud over.

"Things are okay. We's are kind on strike right now…"

"Strike! Tony, you can't be serious-"

"I am! It's a good idea and it could be really good for us and…"

"You didn't let me finish." She said. "You can't be serious! That should be fun!"

"Fun is one way to put it." He said. "Hey! How bout ya come back with me!"

"Huh?"

"Come to Manhattan! Join the strike! We could use the extra help."

"I don't know…"

"Ya said so yourself! It'll be fun!" A smile tugged at Lydia's lips.

"Aw, what the hell!" She said. "Lets go!"


	3. Chapter 3

Race couldn't explain it. He didn't understand why Lydia would have ran away from a nice rich family for something. At the same time, he was glad he had found her. He was planning on seeing her after his meeting with the newsies anyway. He stared at her. Her long, black curls bounced as she walked, her pale cheeks with their naturally rosy color. She was extremely beautiful, especially, like then, when she had a look of determination on her face. one But the thing Race loved about her most, was that twinkle in her eye that made you want to throw your head back and laugh. He felt he had seen that twinkle in someone else, but he could place who.

"What are you looking at?" Lydia asked, a smile spreading across her face.

"You." Race replied, his ears going slightly pink. Lydia giggled, playfully punching him in the arm.

"Well don't." She said, pretending to be serious. Race could already tell the newsies would like her. "Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"What are newsies like anyway?" Race laughed slightly. "Are they like you?"

"Nah. They ain't this amazin."

"Oh, shut up."

"We's are real different. There's Henry, and Crutchie, and Romeo-"

"You call them Crutchie and Romeo?"

"Yeah…"

"What are you called then?" Race straightened his cap and bowed.

"Racetrack Higgins at your service." He said. "Most call me Race."

"Race… I like that more than Tony."

"I'll talk to Jack. We's are gonna find a name for ya better than Lydia." Race grabbed Lydia's hand, gently pulling her forward until they were both running.

"To- Race!" Lydia corrected herself. "Why are we running?"

"Dunno!" Race called over his shoulder. "Just wanna get back home I guess!" Lydia giggled as Race pulled her along. _She sounds like a bell._ He thought, cliché as it sounded. _Just like a bell._

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><p>Romeo drummed his fingers on the windowsill, waiting for his older brother to return. Everyone else came back hours ago! Where is he? He heard the door slam, and ran down the stairs.<p>

"Race?" He called, getting his hopes up. His older brother wasn't there. Instead was Les, fiddling with his hat. "Oh, hey Les."

"Eh, don't get too upset," Les joked, "Race is up the road. And he's gotta goil with him." Romeo cocked his head, thinking about what Race had said about a girl the night before.

"Les," He said, sinking down to his knees so he could be in eye level with the nine year old. "Did ya get to see the goil? What did she look like?"

"Hey! This is Race's! Don't go stealing his goil!"

"For the first time," Romeo said. "I don't wanna date the goil. Now, what did she look like?"

"Actually, like a goil version of ya." Romeo shot up to his feet. "Wh- What?" Les asked. Romeo didn't answer. He ran up the staircase out to the fire escape. _Her!_ He thought. _Of every goil in all a New York, he had to get her! _The door opened, then slammed shut again.

"Romeo! C'mere!" Race said from back at the door. "I wantcha to meet someone!" Romeo cursed under his breath.

"Gimme a minute!" He yelled back. He didn't want to go back down the stairs, but it was as if his feet has a mind of his own, forcing him to go see his brother.

"Romeo," Race said. "This is my friend, Lydia. Lyd, Romeo." Romeo stared at the girl. She was older than he remembered, much older. But that made sense, he hadn't seen her since he was nine. He didn't know if she even remembered him.

"Uh… hi." Romeo said, looking down at the floor. Lydia took a step closer to him, looking like she was staring at an alien.

"Matthew?" She asked incredulously. Race stared at the two of them, completely confused.

"Wait… Do you know each other?" Romeo ran back up the stairs, tear brimming his eyes. "Romeo!" Race yelled after him, but his voice seemed distant and far away.

Romeo flopped down onto his bed, crying into his pillow. _Why did she have to come back?_ He screamed inside his mind. _Why? Am I bein punished or somethin? Why?_ The same word flashed through his head. _Why? Why? Why?_ He shut his eyes, like he was trying to shut out the world. But the memory came back, ready to torment him yet again. It was as if the real world had just melted away, leaving Romeo to deal with his living nightmare.

_The front door slammed, his angry father storming into the living room. Matthew knelt at the top of the staircase, listening to every word._

_"Anna!" Father yelled. Mother timidly walked to her husband._

_"Yes, dear?" She asked._

_"Matthew's teacher has had enough with his behavior. Said he nearly broke Riley Mccormick's nose!" The boy's hand still ached from when he had punched the other kid at school._

_"Dear, I'm sure Matthew has a good explanation for what has happened today." His mother reasoned._

_"A good reason!" Father exploded. "Matthew Gabriel Karlin! I know you are listening! Come down here this instant!" Matthew crept down the stairs to face his father._

_"Y- Yes?" He stuttered._

_"What is the meaning of this? Why did you hit another kid?"_

_"I don't know…" He mumbled. "Why do you hit me?"_

_"Louder!_

_"I don't know!" Matthew screamed. "Why do you hit me!" Right on cue, his father smacked him across the face, sending the young boy flying._

_"You good for nothing, evil boy!" The man turned to face his wife. "Why did we ever have a second child?" Matthew got to his feet, his vision still a little fuzzy but his blood boiling._

_"I- If you don't want a second child, then… then I'll just leave!" He didn't really mean it, he had no where to go, but his father seemed to think he was serious._

_"Leave, boy! We never wanted you in the first place!" Matthew's mother gasped. Tears streamed down the young boy's face as he pushed aside his parents._

_"Fine!" He yelled. His mother grabbed his wrist. He heard feet pounding down the staircase._

_"Matthew!" His sister said, running towards him. Matthew pushed her away, pulling the door open, and disappearing. His sister ran after him, with his parents at her heels. "Matthew!" She screamed. Matthew didn't look back, he just kept running. The last thing he heard was his sister screaming his name, over and over._

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><p>Lydia was quickly introduced to the newsboys, but her mind was elsewhere. She heard everything Race was saying, but she wasn't really listening.<p>

"Um… Tony?" She asked.

"Race." He corrected.

"Yeah, Race. Can I go see, that boy… Romeo?"

"Uh, yeah… sure. While ya do that, I'll go talk to Jack about lettin ya stay." Lydia ran up the staircase. She looked down the hall, opening all the door trying to find Romeo. So far, she hadn't seen him. She hadn't seen a girls bathroom either.

The dormitory was at the end of the hall. She opened the creaking door, finding a boy lying face down his bed. She remembered how he would do that when she was really angry or really sad. Lydia walked towards the bed, trying not to make too much noise. She sat at the foot of the bed, making an awful _CREAK!_

"Go away, Race." The boy said, his face still buried in his pillow.

"It isn't Race." Lydia whispered. The boy sat up, finally seeing Lydia in the eye for the first time in four years. She stared at him. His black hair somehow had gotten even more unruly than she remember. His eyes didn't have the sparkle in them that she always remembered, but she guessed it was because he had been crying. "Matthew…"

"Lydia-" Before he could finish, Lydia had thrown her arm around him, wrapping the boy in a tight hug.

"I didn't… I thought…"

"You thought I wasn't gonna make it on my own?"

"Well… um... yeah..." She said awkwardly.

"Well, you was right, as usual." He said. "As ya can see, I ain't alone. I got Race and the others."

"I've missed you, Matthew." She whispered, not letting go.

"I… I missed you too."

"So, how do ya guys know each other?" Another voice asked. Lydia broke away from Romeo, seeing Race leaning against a wall.

"When did you get here?" She asked.

"Uh, I live here." Race pointed out. "And as of now, so do ya. Jack said to get ya a bunk. But I ain't gettin ya on till ya answer my question. How do ya know each other?" Before Lydia could answer, Romeo stood up.

"I'm Matthew." He said, staring Race right in the eye. "Matthew Gabriel Karlin. And this is me sister, Lydia."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bum Bum Bum!<br>**_

**Well, that took longer than it needed to. Hope it was worth it. Anyways, please review! If you have ideas, don't be afraid to writ them down. Thank you! Newsies forever, second to none!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Sister? _Race thought. _I'm datin his sister! _Romeo stared at the ground, looking extremely embarrassed. He thought that was the correct response. Lydia surprised him. The usually smart, sort of quiet girl he had known was suddenly standing at attention, giving Race a determined look he had never seen before.

Race finally put the pieces together. Lydia's black hair, the same as Romeo's. The way they would talk, they way they would move, it was almost the same, despite the fact Romeo had a heavier newsy accent. That twinkle in Lydia's eye that Race loved, he finally remembered where else he had seen it. Romeo. Race took a deep breath, ready to say something.

"What the hell?" He said. Romeo laughed slightly, which made Race even angrier. "Ya never told me ya had a sister!"

"Ya never asked." Romeo shot back. "And I tried to forget stuff that happened four years ago." Race noticed Lydia look away for a split second.

"Wai- wai- wait," He said, looking directly at Lydia. "What happened four years ago?"

"Nothing," Lydia said quickly, almost too quickly for Race's liking. "Just family things."

"Speaking a which," Romeo turned to face his older sister. "What's been goin on at home? Is Dad still an abusive nutcase?" Lydia's face clouded over.

"Father is not a abusive nutcase." She interjected.

"Really?" He looked like he might laugh out loud. "Then whaddaya call all the times he threw me around like I was a rag doll? All the times he locked me in the basement?" Romeo started acting as if Race was never there, telling his sister things she never seemed to know. "He loved you, Lydia! He always loved the perfect daughter! He hated me! He always had and he always will!"

"Matthew…" She started, trying to get closer to her brother, but he pushed her away."I ain't Matthew no more!" He exploded. "Do ya even remember what happened four years ago, what pushed me to run away? Do they even care that I've been gone! Did ya!"

"Yes I did!" Lydia screamed, catching both Race and Romeo off guard. "For four long years I have been waiting for you to come back! I thought you were _dead_! Father may not have loved you but Mother cried for weeks! She keeps your picture in her locket, the one _you _gave her! She thinks you died, Matthew, we all did. Even now, Father told me how much he regretted what he had done to you! We've never been the same without you!" She broke down crying, running into Race's arms, and burying her head in his shoulder. Romeo looked like he would cry too.

"I got room if ya wanna join the hug." Race said, thinking Romeo would say no. Much to his surprise, his little brother joined him in the circle.

"I needed you, Matthew." Lydia whispered. "I needed you." She broke away, going to her bag, and pulling out a leather bound journal. "Come here. It's time you saw this.

* * *

><p>Lydia opened her journal, flipping through it until she found the right page. The cream colored paper had smudged ink on it, as if the person using it had been crying while writing.<p>

"I want you to read it." She slid the journal over to her brother. She sat next to him, Race standing behind reading over Romeo's shoulder.

_July 9th, 1896**  
><strong>__Dear Matthew,_

_Today should have been your tenth birthday. But instead, it is a day of mourning. Mother is in the parlor, silently staring at your picture. Father went out to buy flowers. Mother thought it would be a good idea to set them out on the porch for you. I don't really understand why. She said that when you were quite young, she took you to her friend's house, and you ripped up all of her lilies. She said that if you saw them somehow, it would show we respect you and hope you have made it to heaven. Mother and Father think you have died. I know better. The Matthew I know would find a way to survive. My Matthew is a survivor. _

_Father came up to me this morning, and hugged me real tight. He regrets everything he did to you. He promised that he would be a better Father in your memory. He is trying, Matthew. He is a better person now. It is safe for you to come back home. Please, come back home. I need you, and I love you dearly. Happy birthday, wherever you are._

_Your sister,  
>Lydia<em>

Race reread the letter over and over. Romeo had tears in his eyes. He turned the page, there was another letter to him. He turned it again, another letter.

"I wrote something to you every day, Matthew." Lydia said, choking back tears. Romeo gently closed the book, putting it down on his pillow. A small piece of paper tumbled out of it. Race picked it up. It was a photograph of a smiling family. It was as if the camera had caught them mid laugh. There was a young boy, who Race guessed was around six, and a girl with pigtails wearing a necklace with a star of David, along with a smiling man and giggling woman. On the back of the photo was written: **When we were happy.**

"Stars." Romeo whispered.

"Huh?" Race cocked his head.

"Remember that. Ya used to always wear that star pendant. And I called ya Stars."

"You were a dumb kid." Lydia said. "But who said I used to." She pulled something out from under her shirt. It was the same necklace, a black cord with a gold star of David.

"I like that." Race said. "Stars."

"What is that, my new name or somethin?" Lydia asked.

"And look. Stars has already started gettin the accent." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't deny that she kind of like the name.

"Stars it is then, I guess." She said.

"Well, _Stars_," Romeo said, standing back up. "We gotta get ya unpacked and settled. We gotta strike to continue tomorrow." In all the fuss with Race and Matthew, Romeo now she decided, Lydia forgot about the whole reason she had come in the first place.

"Oh, yeah. The strike." She grinned. "We better get rested if we's are gonna bust em up."

"Ya know," Race said. "Ya sound real cute talkin like newsy."

"Aw, shut it."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry, the ending is kind of stupid, I hope you will forgive me for that. Next chapter will actually have some stuff about the strike in it. Do you guys like name for Lydia? I realize that this story is getting kind of rushed, so I also apoligize for that.<strong>

**Anyways, please review! As always, if you have ideas, please let me know! I'm thinking about doing a little one-shot for the holidays. What do you think? Newsies forever, second to none!**


	5. Chapter 5

"_Matthew!" _Romeo bolted upright, the piercing sound of his sister's scream giving him chills. He rubbed his eyes, the candle next to his bed burning softly. He sighed, realizing it was just another dream. He shifted his gaze to see Lydia, Stars he remembered, snoring softly in the bunk next to his, her journal peeking out from under her pillow. He threw off his blanket, waiting for someone to wake up to the sound of his creaking bed, but no one did. Romeo climbed out of bed, staring the at journal all the while. He debated whether or no this was a good idea, but he couldn't take it. Quickly, he grabbed the journal and climbed out the window an oil lamp left out there. _Probably Jojo again. _Romeo thought. He opened the journal flipping through the pages the way Lydia had. They all began the same way. _Dear Matthew. Dear Matthew. Dear Matthew. Dear Romeo. _He stopped. There was a page in the middle of the book with a faded red ribbon. The letter looked really short, like she wasn't finished writing it.

_July 20th, 1899_  
><em>Dear Romeo,<em>

_I guess that is your new name now. I'm not going to lie, that is going to take some time to get used to. But I'll manage._

_I knew you were alive. Mother and Father didn't believe me, but I knew you were. You always knew how to take care of yourself. Out of all people to help you and become your new brother, I'm glad its Tony, Race I guess. He seems like a better older sibling than I ever was. I'm not so sure about this idea of a strike, but I promise that_

That was where it ended. _What? What do you promise? _He thought, slamming the journal shut.

"Ya know ya coulda asked to read it." A soft voice whispered behind him. Romeo whipped around. Stars was leaning against the windowsill, her arms crossed.

"I… uh…" Romeo stammered, not knowing what to say.

"Its fine. I don't care." She grinned, sitting down next to him. "Find what you was lookin for?"

"You're accent's real thick already." He noted, making Stars laugh.

"Well, I gotta get used to it, don't I?" Romeo smiled, his gaze shifting back to the journal.

"What page did ya read?" He opened the journal to the page and handed it back to his sister. Her smile melted away.

"Oh…" Stars said, reading what she wrote.

"What do ya promise?" Romeo asked, looking up at his sister through the hair in his eyes. Stars wrapped her arms around him.

"I promise I'm going to protect you." She said staring over his head. "I'm not making the same mistakes Mother and Father did."

"Ya dropped the accent." He whispered.

* * *

><p>"Here, Stars," Race said, tossing her a pair of oversized brown pants, a fraying black belt, a blue plaid shirt, an itchy tweed vest, and a gray cap. "Might wanna go into the bathroom to change. I gotta extra pair of boots that might mit ya. Try em on when ya done." She gratefully took the clothes and slipped into one of the bathrooms. The clothes were way too big for her, but she didn't really care. She unlocked the door, balling up her old clothes and tossing them aside.<p>

"Anyone gotta pair of scissors?" She called out. One of the boys, Albert she thinks, handed her a pair. Not caring what the turnout is, she pulled her long hair into a ponytail and chopped it off. She felt like her head got lighter without the long curls running down her back. She stared at the reflection in the mirror. The person staring back at her isn't Lydia. For the first time, she is staring at the face of Stars. She made sure her necklace was tucked underneath her shirt, straightened her hat, and made her way through the lodging house, ready for the strike to start.

"Can I see the boots?" She asked Race. He grabbed the worn pair from under his bed.

"Here ya-" He stopped, looking up to see her. "Whoa." Stars instantly felt self conscious.

"What? Is it the hair? I just wanted to-"

"No, no." He said quickly. "Ya look real good. Just… wow." Race handed her the boots and a pair of navy blue socks. "One of em had a hole in the toe. The sock, I mean."

"Ya okay?" Stars asked. "Ya seem, jittery."

"Just nervous, bout the strike, ya know?"

"Ya can take of yourself, Race-"

"I ain't worried bout myself." He said. Race looked over his shoulder. Stars followed his gaze to Romeo. Instantly, she understood.

"I'm worried bout him too. But, we'll protect him. I promised him that much. Now, c'mon. The others are already goin."

They stood at the gates, but no one was there. The newsies of Manhattan were alone.

"Are ya sure we're doin the right thing?" Little Les asked, gripping his bowler hat. Stars felt hand connect to hers. Romeo stood beside her, a look of pure nervousness on his face.

"Hey, kid." She whispered. Romeo looked up at her.

"Hey…" He whispered back. "Is this gonna happen or what?" Stars laughed quietly. She at the newsies in front of her, all of them excited and secretly terrified. She watched as Jack pushed through the crowd, as though he was ready to give up. She saw Race leaning on the gate, staring at his cigar. Stars let go of Romeo's hand, and pushed forward until she had run into Davey.

"Hey," She whispered into his ear. "Seize the day." He stared at her like she was crazy, but then understood what she meant. He nodded to her, his face breaking into a grin. Stars hung back as Davey riled up the other newsboys, smiling to herself as they all ran inside to the piles of newspapers.

"Stars, c'mon!" Specs yelled. Five of the boys were pushing on one of the wagons, trying to get it to tip over. She ran to help them, and the wagon fell, piles of newspapers tumbling everywhere. Stars stopped. The sound of rambunctious newsies had faded away, the sound replaced by a creepy silence. She looked up to see the police standing above them, waving their batons like swords. She grabbed a heavy bundle of papers, having a feeling she was going to need it, before joining the rest of the newsies. Jack stepped forward.

"Newsies," He said, like her was commanding troops going to battle. "Get em!" Not knowing what she was doing, she threw her papers at one of the policemen, happy to find out it hit him. The newsies ran forward to meet the bulls. And all hell broke loose.

Stars was met by a man twice her size who stood over her menacingly with a baton. She ran at him and kneed him in the crotch. _Men. _She thought, running far away from him.

"Its about time ya got here, they're slaughtering us!" Stars turned just in time to see Romeo go flying by the force of a blow by a man in shadows. The memory of Matthew flashed through her mind as she ran to her brother.

"Ya stay the hell away from him!" She screamed, punching the man in the stomach before tending to Romeo.

"Stars," He said softly, staggering back to his feet and breaking back into a run.

"Stars!" Race yelled, being dragged away by a police man. Romeo was running to him, Stars at his heels. She felt someone grab her wrist, pulling her back. It was another cop.

"Let go of me!" She yelled, struggling against his grip. Romeo didn't notice she wasn't with him, he was still running to Race. "Romeo!" She screamed for her brother. Time slowed down. Romeo stood between Race and Stars, both being dragged in different directions. What happened next broke the girl's heart. Romeo turned his back to his sister, running to Race.

"Its off to the Refuge with you." The police man handcuffed her and dragged her away. Tears fell from her eyes as Stars yelled for her brother, for Race, for anyone. But nobody came.

* * *

><p><strong>Guys, don't hate me! I'm sorry! I had this planned since I came up with the idea for this story, and I felt kinda angsty. Anyways, reviews please. If you have more ideas, let me know and stuff. Thanks! Newsies forever, second to none!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

"Race! Romeo! Race!" Race struggled against Morris and Oscar as they pulled him away from everyone else.

"Stars!" He yelled. He watched a small dark haired blur head butt Oscar, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud. Race seized his chance, punching Morris in the stomach. The blur, who of course was Romeo, staggered to his feet, tears in his eyes. "Romeo, where's your sister?" Romeo shrugged his shoulders, not uttering a word.

"Race, Romeo!" The two boys turned to see Finch and Specs limping out of the distribution center. "C'mon, we's are goin home." Specs' glasses were cracked, and Finch looked like he was only half conscious. Davey was carrying Les like he was a baby, the young boy's arm sticking out at a weird angle. Jack, Crutchie, and Stars were nowhere to be found.

"C'mon," Race mumbled, following the others. "Stars is probably already back home." He wrapped his arm around Romeo, who flinched at his touch. It was only for a split second, but Race noticed it nonetheless. "Hey, ya okay?"

"Hm?" Romeo asked, his voice going up a few pitches, "Oh, yeah... Just tired. And my face hurts." Race noticed Romeo's right eye starting to turn black and blue.

"Yeah, nice shiner ya got there." Race tried to laugh, but even that hurt a little.

"Well, ya look no better," Romeo stared at the ground. Race could tell he was hiding something, but decided to let it go, for now. He had enough to think about. The two walked home in silence, the darkness as deep and sad as everyone felt. It was a struggle for the boys to get up the staircase at the lodging house. It was a struggle to even get the door open. They flopped into their beds, half of them not even bothering to kick off their shoes or change their clothes. In minutes the lodging house was silent once again.

Race couldn't sleep. He stared out the window, rubbing his shoulder, feeling like the strike was just a distant nightmare that happened years ago, although it had only been hours since it happened. He felt as if the screams, that had gone from excited to painful in a matter of moments, would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Race?" A small voice asked. Race turned around. Romeo was standing behind him, looking like he had been crying. "I can't sleep."

"Me either." Race admitted. He motioned for the younger by to sit next to him. Romeo timidly sat at the windowsill staring at Stars' empty bed. "She never came back, kid."

"I know," Romeo threw his arms around Race, catching him off guard before hugging the boy back. "I know where she is…" Race let go, staring at him. Romeo looked so small to him, reminding Race of the boy he had found behind Jacobi's four years ago.

"Where is she then?"

"I'm sorry Race… I didn't help her…"

"Romeo, whaddaya talkin about?"

"Stars' is in the Refuge, Race." Romeo whispered, the full moon reflecting off his tear stained face.

* * *

><p>Stars stared out of the bars of Snyder's carriage, Crutchie gripping her hand tightly. They had been sitting in the carriage for what had seemed like forever, Snyder already inside.<p>

"We ain't gonna make it outta here are we?" Stars said. Crutchie shrugged.

"Sure we will," He whispered, but she didn't believe it.

"Do ya still have your crutch?" Crutchie nodded.

"The very thing Snyder beat me with." Stars could see the blood seeping through Crutchie's shirt.

"Want me to look at it? It might get infected." He shook his head.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

"Do ya really think we'll get out?"

"Course! Jack'll get us out… right?"

"Yeah… yeah…" Crutchie didn't seem any younger than Stars, but he was so innocent, so naive. It was weird to her, but made her feel a little better. She heard the clicking of shoes getting closer to the carriage. Crutchie paled.

"Snyder!" He whispered. The door was flung open, a man with graying hair on the other side.

"C'mon," The man said, grabbing Stars' arm and pulling her out of the carriage. It took her a second to regain her footing before stepping closer to help Crutchie. Snyder pulled her back away from him.

"He needs his crutch." She said. Snyder didn't listen. He yanked Crutchie from the carriage, the crippled boy hitting the ground with a thud.

"Get up." Snyder said.

"I-I can't." Crutchie whimpered. Snyder replied with a swift kick to Crutchie sternum. He cried out, gasping for air.

"Get up!" The warden repeated.

"I told ya," Stars said. "He needs his crutch!" She rushed to Crutchie's side. "Ya okay?" She whispered to him. Crutchie said nothing. She wrapped his around around her, shouldering his weight.

"Lousy crip." Snyder muttered, handing Crutchie the crutch. The warden turned, opening a door and entered a building. The two followed him.

The hallways were dimly lit, making it all even more terrifying. Stars and Crutchie were being followed by two other guards, Snyder leading the way in front. There was a break in the hallway, one corridor leading left, one right.

"Take the girl to room 26." Snyder ordered the two guards. "I'll handle the crip." Crutchie was teared from Stars' grasp. He made a sound that reminded Stars of a wounded dog. Snyder kept a firm grip on Crutchie's arm, half leading half dragging him down the right hallway.

"Crutchie!" Stars yelled after him, getting rewarded with a slap across the face.

"Lets go." One of the guards said, yanking her down the other hall. She kept her head down, biting on her lip to keep from crying. She missed Race, but she knew he wouldn't come. She was angry at Romeo, but was glad he was safe. Most of all, she wanted her parents. She didn't care if she was forced to get married to some money grubbing man, she just wanted to go home.

The guard unlocked the cell at the end of the hallway. There seemed to be at least ten other girls in there. They pushed her in and relocked the door. Instantly, Stars was surrounded by the others, their ages ranging from about twelve to seventeen.

"Whaddaya here for?" A blonde girl of about fifteen said.

"Huh?" Stars asked.

"What did ya get arrested for?"

"Oh… um… Striking. Newsies strike." Stars rubbed her cheek, it still felt sore from the slap. The blonde looked sympathetic.

"Well then, get comfortable. I'd say you're stuck here for at." She replied. "So, welcome to the Refuge. Or as we say, living hell."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry guys! I left you on that horrible note last chapter and haven't updated until now! Gah, I'm such a bad person! I apologize if this chapter seems a little rushed, but I wanted to finally get it done and posted ASAP. <strong>

**Also, I wanted to take a moment to say thanks for all the kind reviews you guys are leaving me. I'm so glad you like this story, so this chapter is for you. I love you all and... yeah. I guess that's how it goes. So, keep reviewing and I'll keep writing... hopefully. Newsies forever, second to none!**


	7. Chapter 7

Romeo clutched the leather bound journal, his tears hitting the cream paper, smudging the ink even more. He refused to talk to anyone, not that anyone would talk to him. Secrets spread fast in the lodging house, and by morning everybody knew about what had happened to Crutchie and Stars. He felt the glares from the other boys burning into him, making the thirteen-year-old just want to disappear.

He stood up, stuffing the journal under his sheets. Keeping his gaze to the wooden floor, he laced up his boots, as he was one of the boys who was too sore to change their clothes the previous night. Romeo pulled his cap over his eyes and ran down the staircase, slamming into the boy at the bottom. Much to his dismay, it was Race.

"Watch it!" He said coolly.

"Sorry…" Romeo mumbled, not making eye contact.

"Don't bother." Race pushed past Romeo, hitting his already injured shoulder. He debated whether or not following his the older boy, but decided against it. When Race didn't want to talk to you, it was best just to stay out of his way. Romeo knew that, but he never had to experience it first hand.

He pulled the door open and slipped into the streets, shoving his balled fists in his pockets. He let his feet drag behind him, wearing his boots down even more. He trudged along, the painful memory of what had happened playing on repeat. Romeo tried to ignore it, but he just couldn't. He started running, screaming in his frustration, until he was there.

The Refuge. The iron bars on the gate were standing guard menacingly. Romeo stood at the foot of the gate, staring at the building inside. He looked behind him, the people around him weren't paying any attention. He grabbed the bars and began climbing. Romeo laughed to him himself. _Most of these kids wanna break out. _He thought. _And here I am breaking in. _

He feet hit the ground, and Romeo began looking for a window. He came closer, seeing a boy leaning on a window. _Crutchie! _He grabbed a rock and chucked it at the wall, almost hitting Crutchie in the face. The crippled boy looked up, and Romeo waved to him. He climbed to the barred window, smiling at his friend.

"Romeo!" Crutchie cried. "Whaddaya doin here?"

"Hoping to see ya." Romeo replied. "How ya doin?" Crutchie shrugged.

"Alright, I guess." Romeo could tell he was lying. "Snyder's busted me up a bit, but I'll be okay."

"Have ya seen Stars at all?"

"A few times. Mostly when we serve Snyder and stuff."

"Is she alright?" Crutchie's face clouded over.

"She's hangin in there. Feels betrayed, ya know?" Romeo looked down. "She told me what happened."

"Look, can ya tell her I'm sorry? I'm sorry and I'm gonna her outta here. You too."

"Don't worry bout me." Crutchie said warmly. "Just... uh... make sure Jack is okay. And... give him this." He handed Romeo a folded piece of paper. Written on the top with a shaky hand was: _Jack Kelly_. "Make sure he gets it. Please."

"Course," Romeo said, tucking the note in his pocket.

"Stars is in room 26. The room farthest to the left. Hurry!" Romeo stared at Crutchie before he began climbing down.

"I-I'll come back, I promise." He dropped to the ground, looking through the windows for Stars. He saw her at the very end, looking like she had been crying.

"Stars!" He called, trying to get her attention. "Stars!"

"What are you doing here?" A gruff voice demanded. Romeo whipped around. Snyder and two other policemen were running towards him. The boy broke into a run, the three men at his heels. "Get back here!" Romeo grabbed the iron bars of the gate and began climbing. He felt one of them take hold of his ankle and pull him down.

"Let go of me!" He yelled, kicking the man in the face. Romeo climbed over the side and hit the streets running.

"Stop that boy!" Snyder said. "He was at that strike!" Romeo could hear the wind whistling in his ears. He rounded a corner, blending into the crowd.

"Hey, Oscar, look who's here." He felt someone grab the collar of his shirt and pull him into an alleyway. Morris Delancey pushed Romeo up against a wall. "Little loverboy!"

"Morris, Oscar…" Romeo said, fear building up. "Whaddaya want?"

"Well, we got some unfinished business, don't we?" Morris cracked his knuckles.

"Huh?"

"You was at the strike weren't ya? Well, we gotta finish what the bulls started." Morris punched Romeo in the stomach, causing the boy to double over in pain. The last thing he saw was the glint of the brass knuckles before blacking out.

* * *

><p>Stars sat on her bed, or her half of the bed staring at her hands.<p>

"Hey, you alright?" The blonde girl, who called herself Chris, asked. She was the one Stars was sharing her bed with, and pretty much the only person she would talk to besides Crutchie.

"Yeah, I'm fine…"

"I'm young, I ain't stupid. You ain't fine." Stars sighed. "Your brother again?"

"Yeah."

"You can talk to me if ya want. Ya look like ya need someone to listen."

"Thanks, Chris." Stars said. Chris sat down next to her. "Where'd the name Chris come from anyway?"

"Where did Stars come from?" She retorted playfully.

"Name's really Lydia." Chris burst out laughing.

"Lydia? Thats your name?"

"And now ya see why I changed it."

"Chris is short for Christina. Mama hoped I would be some sorta sweet perfect daughter or somethin."

"Yeah, that didn't happen." Stars joined in on the laughing.

"Ah, shut it!" The girl above them complained.

"Hey, Chris?" Stars wasn't sure if this was a good idea. "How long have ya been here?" Chris stiffened up.

"Awhile…"

"But most people usually stay for a year at the most. How long have you been here?"

"Bout three years…" She whispered. Stars stared, her jaw hanging open.

"Three years! What did ya do?"

"I-I killed a person." Stars hand flew to her mouth. "Yeah, I know."

"What happened?" Chris took a breath.

"Ya sure ya wanna know?" Stars nodded.

"Three years ago this boy came up with a knife at my neck. I never knew why, he just had this idea that I should die for some reason. I was able to grab the knife, one thing led to another, and it ended up in the poor kid's stomach." Chris had tears in her eyes. Stars put an arm around her.

"Its okay…" She whispered.

"Nah it ain't." Chris whispered back. "Stars? There's somethin else I need to tell ya."

"What?"

"That boy. He was Snyder's own kid."

* * *

><p>"Race! Race!" Les yelled, barreling up the staircase.<p>

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down kid!" Race said, putting a hand on Les's uninjured arm. "What is it?"

"Ro-Romeo… He… He's unconscious… In an alley…" Les panted. Race furrowed his brow. "Hello! You're brother is kinda dyin! Whaddaya just standin here for?" Race stopped to think for a second before saying anything. _He didn't help Stars… But he did help you… _

"Where is he?" He said, placing his cigar in his mouth.

Race followed Les through the busy streets, looking in every alley for Romeo.

"He's over here!" Les cried, pointing at a heap on the ground. Race ran over to the little boy, who was staring at an dead looking Romeo. The thirteen year old was soaked in sweat, his right eye even more black and blue. The was blood seeping through his shirt, and his breathing was shallow.

"Good, God, Romeo!" Race whispered. He picked up the young newsie, hoping he wasn't hurting him even more. Slowly, he trudged home, carrying the bloodied boy in his arms.

Romeo lied in his bed, Race refusing to leave his side. Romeo's eyes fluttered open.

"Race?" He croaked. Race leaned forward.

"I'm here, kid." He said softly. "I'm here."

"I-I'm sorry." Race took his little brother's hand, all the anger that was built up melting away.

"Me too."

* * *

><p><strong>I seem to have thing about torturing my dear newsies don't I? Sorry guys! This chapter was really Romeo based, but c'mon, who doesn't love Romeo? I do love all these newsies, I love writing <strong>**angst too! Anyways, reviews please and thank you! Newsies forever, second to none!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry guys, no Stars in this chapter. Just a bit of Race and Romeo brotherly love. This chapter is a bit happier/fluffier than others, but maybe its cuz all my chapters are really angsty. But oh well. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for Romeo to fall back asleep. Race watched as the younger boy snored softly, refusing to leave the side of the bed until his little brother was up and about again. He noticed an awkward lump under Romeo's sheet. Gently, Race lifted up the blanket. Laying just below Romeo's arm was the leather journal. He picked it up and opened it, the photograph of Stars' family tumbling to the floor. Race stared at the photo. <strong>When we were happy. <strong>He couldn't remember a time when he looked like that. Laughing with a family of his own. His family had always been the newsies. He never realized until then how much he missed his real parents.

Race flipped through the journal pages. Most of them were written in fancy handwriting that was obviously Stars' hand. But there was one entry that was different from the others. The writing was lopsided like the person barely knew how to hold a pencil. Half of the words had been crossed out and a few were misspelled.

_July 21, 1899_  
><em>Dear Stars,<em>

_Or Lydia, __wicheva__ whichever ya like more. I know that what __hapened__ happened is all my fault, but I need to say I'm sorry. For everything. Race won't talk to me, no one will. But I guess I deserve it. I ain't really used to writing to anyone like this, and I kinda feel like a goil writing in a jornal, but this is the best I got. _

_I'm sorry. I shoulda helped ya and I didn't. But I promise, I'm gonna get ya outta there, and I ain't gonna leave ya again. Ya promised you was gonna take care of me and protect me, and thats a promise I plan on returning._

_I love you too,_

_Romeo (or Matthew, whichever you prefer.)_

Race smiled at Romeo's messy handwriting, rereading the letter. He placed a hand on Romeo's sighing. The younger boy looked so small, so vulnerable. Race hadn't seen him look like since he had found him four years ago.

_"Stop him!" The policeman yelled. Race shoved the three apples he had stolen into his messenger bag and took off running. He heard the shocked yells of the people he pushed out of his way, but didn't really care. Slipping under a man's legs, he turned the corner, crashing face first into a mess of black hair. The two fell to the ground. Race stared at the person he had ran into. It was a young boy, about two or three years younger than him._

"_Hey!" The boy cried. Race scrambled to his feet. He could hear the policeman's running footsteps close behind him. Thinking fast, he grabbed the boy's wrist and pulled him up, dragging the confused kid behind him as he picked up the pace. "Hey! What are you doing!"_

"_Runnin! And thats what ya gotta do too if ya don't wanna get arrested!" Race yelled over his shoulder. Race ran through an alleyway, the young boy trailing behind him. "C'mon, we're almost there!"_

_"Almost where?" The boy asked._

"_My place!" Race could see the lodging house fire escape. He climbed up the ladder, the metal clanging loudly from the two boys. Race pushed the window up, pushing the boy inside before climbing in himself and slamming the window shut. He flopped down on his bed, gasping for air. THe black haired boy gripped the bedpost, looking more confused than anything._

"_Who are you?" The boy asked. "What is this place?"_

"_This is my place." Race said, smirking. "And I'm Race."_

"_What kind of name is that?" _

"_A name that is probably better than yours." _

"_Okay… Where am I?"_

"_I told ya, my place." Crutchie hobbled up the stairs, setting a book on Race's bedside table._

"_Hey, Race!" He said brightly, not regarding the black haired boy standing in front of him._

_"Heya, Crutchie. Sell all ya papes?"_

"_Yep, my new spot has all these young women who feel about the leg here. I got a whole quarter from one of em!" Finch bounded up the stairs with Spec in tow._

"_Heya, Racetrack." Finch said._

"_Who's the new kid?" Specs asked, regarding the black haired boy. Race noticed the boy had picked up the book Crutchie had set down on the table. He read the cover: __**Romeo and Juliet**__. _

"_Hey, Romeo!" Race said, the name just coming out of his mouth. "Put the book down and say hi to my brothers!" The black haired boy looked up nervously._

"_My name isn't Romeo." He muttered, staring at the other boys. "Are all these your brothers?"_

"_Not really," Specs said. "But its the best we got."_

* * *

><p><em>Romeo was in a mass of darkness, Stars and Race in two opposite locations, both screaming for help. Romeo tried to move, but his feet were stuck to the ground.<em>

_"__Matthew!" Stars screamed._

_"__Romeo!" Race cried. He saw the Delancey brothers charging towards him, their brass knuckles poised at the ready._

"Romeo, Romeo wake up!" He heard a voice, but it was distant and garbled. Romeo's eyes snapped open, and he shot up, hitting someone in the face. "Dammit, kid!" Race said, rubbing his cheek.

"Wha- What happened?" Romeo asked. He went to rub his eyes, but even lifting his arm caused him pain. He winced setting his arm back down to his side.

"You was just havin a nightmare, its fine." Race looked deep in thought, chewing his bottom lip the way he always did when he was lost in daydreams.

"Whatcha thinkin bout?"

"Just rememberin when ya came and stuff." Race replied. "Did ya ever give Crutchie his book back anyway?" Romeo smiled. Crutchie's copy of _Romeo and Juliet _was still in the young boy's possession. The crippled boy had just said to consider it a birthday present, and forgot about it.

"Nah." Romeo said slyly. A thought tugged at the thirteen year old's mind, "Race?"

"Yeah kid?"

"What your real name?" The question caught Race off guard.

"Why do ya wanna know?" Romeo shrugged.

"I dunno, just wonderin." Race seemed to know everything about Romeo's past, and yet he knew nothing. Race took a breath.

"A- Antonio. People used to call me Tony."

"Did Lydia ever call ya that?"

"Ya mean Stars?" Romeo nodded. "Yeah, she's really the only one that still does."

"Do ya miss Stars?"

"Course I do, kid."

"I- I went to go see her yesterday. I got to talk to Crutchie for a bit. But I didn't get to see her. The bulls chased me out before I could. I guess the Delanceys were following me or somethin, cuz next thing I know…" His voice died. Race threw his arms around Romeo, wrapping him in a loose hug.

"Ya know, kid, we's are goin to Jacobi's in about an hour to meet up with Davey and Les. If you'se is feelin up to it, ya can come along." Romeo grinned, tears in his eyes.

"Thanks, Race." He whispered, all the pain leaving his body.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all liked! As this chapter didn't have any Stars, the next one is going to be mostly her. Also, you might have noticed that Race's name changed from Daniel to Antonio (Tony), but after reading some other fanfics and watching the movie non-stop, I kinda felt like Race wouldn't have such a generic American name. I dunno, he did always seem like he was of Italian decent, so... there ya go. Don't judge the way my weird fansie mind works!<strong>

**Anyways, please review and stuff. If you have any ideas for anything Newsies related that you want me to write about, don't be afraid to drop me a PM or something, my inbox is always open. Thanks! Newsies forever, second to none!**


	9. Chapter 9

The room was silent, the girls were trying to get a few more hours of sleep before being forced out of bed. Stars shifted uncomfortably, hoping not to wake Chris, who had fallen asleep holding her hand like a teddy bear. She pulled out her pendant from under her soiled shirt, squeezing the gold star with her free hand until her knuckle turned white. Carefully, she pulled the necklace over her head, letting it rest in her palm. Stars stared at the pendant, trying not to wake anyone up with her tears… again. She closed her eyes wondered what would have happened if she hadn't left her parents, hadn't became Stars, still had Matthew.

"_Lydia!" Matthew yelled, pounding on her door. "Please! Let me in!" Lydia slowly opened the door, nervously twisting a dark curl around her finger._

"_Matthew, what happened?" She pulled Matthew inside and locked the door._

_"Riley Mccormick… was saying bad things… about you and… and I punched him. In the nose." Lydia didn't know whether to chastise him or give him a hug._

"_Matthew…"_

"_F-Father found out." He stammered. Lydia bit her lip. Father wasn't going to be pleased._

"_Just stay here." She instructed. Matthew nodded, curling up in a ball on her floor. Lydia started for the door._

"_Stars?" Matthew asked. "Can you stay?" She turned around and sat next to her little brother, smiling sadly._

"_I'm here." She untied the leather cord of her necklace and place it in Matthew's palm, him little hand curling around the points of the star. "I won't let him hurt you." Lydia wrapped her arm around Matthew, his head resting on her shoulder. She heard the front door slam._

_"Anna!" Her father bellowed. Matthew tensed up._

"_Father!" He whispered, his eyes full of terror. Lydia squeezed him tighter before standing up and opening the door. _

"_Stay here, I'll be right back." She slithered through the partially opened door, Matthew at her heels. "What are you doing?"_

"_I-I might as well," He said quietly. The two sat at the two of the staircase, quiet as two thieves._

"_Dear, I'm sure Matthew has a good explanation for what happened today." Her mother said._

"_A good reason!" Matthew grabbed Lydia's hand. "Matthew Gabriel Karlin! I know you are listening! Come down here this instant!" He gave her hand a quick squeeze and stood up, walking down the stairs like it was a funeral march._

"_Matthew!" Lydia whispered urgently. "Matthew, don't!" She tried to go after him, but it was like her feet were stuck to the ground._

"_Y- Yes?" He stuttered. _

_"What is the meaning of this? Why did you hit another kid?"_

"_I don't know…" He mumbled. "Why do you hit me?" _

"_Louder!_

"_I don't know!" Matthew screamed. "Why do you hit me!" Lydia was in horror as her father's slap sent her little brother flying into a wall. She had to cover her mouth with both hands to muffle her screams._

"_You good for nothing, evil boy!" Her father said, each word stinging Lydia even though the words weren't directed to her. "Why did we ever have a second child?" Matthew stood up, red hot tears hitting the wood floor._

"_I- If you don't want a second child, then… then I'll just leave!"_

"_Leave, boy! We never wanted you in the first place!" Lydia sprang to her feet, running down the staircase._

"_Fine!" Matthew yelled, pushing aside his parents and pulling open the heavy door._

"_Matthew!" Lydia yelled, running after him. "Matthew!" She picked up her skirt trying to catch up with her brother. She saw Matthew fling something over his shoulder and turn a corner, trapped in the middle of the crowd. Lydia found what Matthew had thrown away, her necklace. She sank to her knees, clutching the pendant to her chest._

The memory still haunted Stars, and the fact she was trapped in a dark cell made it no better. She yanked her arm out of Chris's grasp, making her wake up.

"Wha-?" She asked, still half asleep.

"My arm ain't a doll." Stars snapped. She climbed out of bed and walked to the window, the iron bars blocking her from the outside world. She gripped the bars tightly, resting all her weight on them. She felt her head pitch forward. Stars jiggled the iron. They gave way, making a human sized hole. She nearly screamed in happiness. "Chris!" she whispered. "Come here!"

"What now?"

"Look!" She showed Chris the bars in her hands. "We can get outta here!" They heard footsteps clicking down the hallway.

"Snyder!" Chris said urgently, hurrying back to bed. Stars pushed the bars back in place until it looked close enough to how it was. She followed Chris and threw their sheet over their head, pretending to sleep. They heard the jingle of the keys as the door was flung open. The sound of Snyder's walking stick hitting the bed made Stars cringe. Silently, the girls got out of bed, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

"We get out when I get back." Stars whispered, following Snyder out the door. The warden led her down to the kitchen, where Crutchie was struggling to get a plate from the cabinet. Snyder slammed the door shut, leaving the two alone, just the way Stars needed it to be.

"I got it." She said, grabbing the plate.

"Thanks." Crutchie replied, staring straight ahead.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'se is fine." There was a pause before, "Romeo was here yesterday."

"Oh," Stars said. "Um… How's he doin?"

"Said he was fine. He misses ya."

"Why didn't he talk to me then?"

"Couldn't find ya, I guess."

"Hey, Crutch?"

"Yeah?"

"I found a way out." Stars smiled. Crutchie's jaw fell open. "The bars at our window gave way, we can out!" The crippled boy looked away. "What's wrong?"

"I can't go with ya." He said quietly.

"Why?

"Have ya seen my leg? I would just slow ya down."

"But… but I said we would get out. Together." Crutched smiled, tears in his eyes. "Look, Ya gotta get back to Race and Romeo. They need ya."

"And Jack needs you!" She replied. "You'll get in more trouble when Snyder finds out."

"Don't worry bout me. Just hurry. I'll handle Snyder." Stars grabbed the keys off the table, and threw her arm around Crutchie.

"I'll come back, I promise." She said.

"I'll be here." He replied, his tears falling on her shoulder.

She unlocked the door of room 26, where Chris was sitting alone.

"Where is everyone?" Stars asked.

"Everyone's out doin stuff. Snyder doesn't trust me enough to leave the room." She motioned towards the window. "Are we goin now?" Stars nodded. Together they jiggled the bars out of place, and flung them on the bed.

"Lets go." Stars swung her leg over the side, and began climbing down, hitting the fire escape running. Chris dropped down next to, and off they sped.

"Where do we go now?" Chris asked as they trecked past the distribution center.

"Come back to the lodging house with me." Stars said. "Join the strike." Chris looked nervous. "It'll be fun."

"Aw, what the hell. I got nothing better to do anyways." She said. Stars could see the peeling green paint of the lodging house door. She pushed the door open, and bounded up the stairs. The newsies were still asleep, which surprised her.

"Romeo!" She said, running to his bunk. Her brother's eyes were closed.

"Lydia?" He mumbled in his sleep.

"Romeo, wake up!" She shook his shoulder lightly. Romeo's eyes fluttered open.

"Stars? Is that you?" Stars nodded. Romeo kicked the bunk above his.

"Ugh! What is it kid?" Race said groggily. He jumped down of his bed, right in front of Stars.

"Hey Tony." She said, wrapping Race and Romeo in a tight hug.

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><p><strong>TGIS (Thank Goodness For Snowdays)! I told you this chapter would be all Stars (hehe all-Stars). Sorry it took this long to post this chapter, I had a whole mess of writers block, and homework. :P<strong>

**Anyways, review! If you have any ideas at all, please drop a PM my way. Thanks! Newsies forever, second to none!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, I got a request from Newsgoil19 to write a portion of a chapter in Chris's POV. You, my friend, are a genius! Thanks for such a great idea. ****I'm so SO sorry for not updating sooner, but I had tech week for my school play. We just finished the show, so I should have more down time, I'm also starting Alice in Wonderland at my other theater group. I'm Queen of Hearts (OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!). Plus there's homework, writers block (the bane of my existence) and... well, you don't really want to hear me ramble, do you? On with the chapter! **

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><p>Chris leaned on the fire escape, staring at the dirty streets in front of her. She could hear Stars laughing with the other newsies, but had no intention of joining her. She nervously twisted a lock of hair around her finger, sitting down and dangling her legs over the side of the ladder.<p>

"Hello, hello, hello miss." A voice said behind her. Chris turned around to see a little black haired boy, and instantly knew it was Stars's brother. "May I join ya?" She shrugged.

"I guess." He sat down eagerly. "But don't try anything, Romeo."

"How does everyone know my name?" He muttered, making Chris laugh.

"Your sister told me." She admitted.

"Oh… what else did she tell you?"

"If you're thinking about the strike, she told me everything." Chris noticed Romeo's ears turning a bright pink.

"Oh…"

"She said how brave ya were, helping out that sandy haired kid in there."

"Ya mean Race?" Chris nodded. "But I thought she felt betrayed by me."

"Course she did. But she's still your sister. She told me she was just glad you and Race were safe." "What else did she say?"

"That she missed her parents. Said that if she ever got out, she was gonna take ya to see them. At least once."

"Why were you in the Refuge?" Romeo's question caught her off guard.

"That ain't your business." She snapped. Romeo raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry…" Chris relaxed.

"Its a long story."

"I got time." Romeo said, snickering. Chris could tell he wasn't going to go away, and gave in.

"I've never been the most popular person in the world. My parents weren't either. People disagreed with a lot of their choices, and one day, some guy asked all these gang members to kill the entire family. I was just eight at the time. The leader of the gang murdered my mom and dad, and then came for me. He-He followed me for years, trying to get me. Then around four years ago, he caught up to me. And…" Chris broke down, unable to make another sound.

"I'm sorry." Romeo said. "But… what happened to the man?"

"More like a boy." She corrected. "He's dead. He was sent to kill me. But I killed him."

"Why would Snyder care so much if it was just some gang member?"

"Cuz it wasn't _some _gang member. Ever heard people say _Snyder the Spider_?"

"Yeah, thats what Jack calls Snyder."

"They ain't talkin about the warden. They'se talkin about his kid." Romeo's eyes widened.

"Snyder had a kid?"

"Yeah. Weird right." Chris stood up abruptly. "Look, thanks for the chat, but I gotta go. Don't tell anyone what I told you, kay?" Romeo nodded, climbing back inside. Chris watched him go. She took a deep before pulling her black cap over her eyes and descending down the fire escape.

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><p>Romeo found Jack on his penthouse sketching on a newspaper, his eyebrows creased in dedication as his pencil danced along the paper. Romeo knew that when Jack looked like that he was to deep in thought to be disturbed, but this was kind of important.<p>

"Jack?" Romeo called from the foot of the ladder. Jack jumped up, startled, his pencil rolling off the penthouse onto the ground below. "Can I come up?"

"Just bring the pencil with ya." Came Jack's reply. Romeo quickly climbed up the ladder.

"How ya doin?" The younger boy asked, handing Jack his pencil. He shrugged, setting down his drawing. Romeo could see the outline of a smiling boy, the drawn smile seemed to light up the gray sky. The boy in the drawing was standing straight up, holding a stick over his head in victory. Romeo squinted his eyes, realizing that it wasn't a stick. It was a crutch. _Crutchie. _The thirteen year old thought to himself. "Um… I like your pitcha."

"Thanks, kid." Jack replied, staring off into space. "What did ya need?"

"Oh, uh…" Romeo wasn't quite sure what to say. He shoved his hands in his pockets, and felt the note Crutchie had given him. "Well when I got a little, ya know, soaked and all… I went to… to-"

"Just spit it out."

"I went to the Refuge!" He blurted out. Jack opened his mouth to say something, stopped, and tried to start again, but he couldn't seem to say the right words.

"God, Romeo! Are ya really that stupid!" Jack hit Romeo on the head. "Why would ya try to get in there?"

"To see Stars. And Crutchie, I guess." He said, making the moment worse. Jack turned away, and Romeo could see the tears in his leader's eyes. "Hey, Jack he's doin alright."

"No he ain't!" Jack snapped. "He ain't gonna make it in there!"

"Jack! Crutchie is gonna take care of himself."

"Did ya see him, Romeo? He was all pale and bloody and bruised. Barely could get to the window!"

"Wait, ya went to the Refuge to see him too?" Romeo asked, confused. Jack nodded. "So you'se is tellin me how crazy it is to try and get in there, and went in there yourself. Not your smartest move, Jackie."

"That'd different, kid. I'se have been there before. I know all the secret ways in and out. And Crutchie's my brother."

"He's my brother too." Romeo pointed out. "And I actually got to the window when I talked to him! He… He gave me this." The newsie pulled the note from his pocket and held it out for Jack. "Its for ya." Jack gingerly took the piece of paper. "I didn't read it. In case ya was wonderin." The older boy unfolded the paper and skimmed through the note. Romeo rolled around on his heels, waiting for Jack to finish.

"I… Romeo…"

"I ain't in trouble, am I?" Romeo asked. The note fell to Jack's feet.

"Romeo…" He wrapped his arms around the young romantic. "You're in a whole mess of trouble."

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><p><strong>Reviews would make it all worth it. ;) <strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	11. Chapter 11

Race pushed his way through the group of boys crowding around Stars. She seemed extremely overwhelmed by everyone talking at once, and her eyes lit up when she saw him struggled to get forward.

"Stars," Race called, shoving Finch into Henry. "Wanna go for a walk or somethin?" Stars nodded quickly.

"We'll talk later," She said to the other newsies, already starting towards the stairs. "Thanks," She whispered to Race. He smirked.

"Know ya don't like crowds." He laced his hand into hers. "C'mon."

"But what about Snyder?" Stars looked nervous. "I'm sure he ain't happy to find out Chris and I are gone."

"I'll protect ya, don't worry," Race assured her. Stars rolled her eyes.

"Well, alright. But if I get sent back to the Refuge, its on you." Race opened the door, leading Stars outside.

"So," He said awkwardly. "How've ya been?"

"Besides the fact that I escaped a hell hole yesterday, things have been good." Stars bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, Lyd." Race whispered. Stars looked at him with her deep brown eyes.

"You haven't called me that in forever," She whispered. "I kinda missed it." Race smiled as Stars rested her head on her shoulder. "Hey, Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"How did we meet anyway?"

"Ya don't remember?" He asked, laughing. Stars shook her head guiltily. "I saved your ass."

"Excuse me, Mister Higgins, but I think your chain of events is backwards. I was the one who," She deepened her voice to try and match Race's "Saved your ass."

"I thought you said ya didn't remember."

"Well," She blushed. "There are bits and pieces."

_"Whaddaya want, Oscar," A fourteen-year-old Race asked, smirking at the two brothers as he hawked his headline._

"_We're lookin for you," Oscar said. "You owe us somethin."_

"_Hate to burst your bubble, but I owe a lot of people a lot of things." Race pulled a cigar and a pack of matches from his pocket. "Gotta be more specific." He puffed the smoke in the brothers' faces, temporarily stunning them. "See ya." He waved good-bye to them, and took off running._

_Race was a fast, but he couldn't keep a good pace while holding his 50 heavy newspapers. "Dammit," He muttered, throwing his bag on the ground. That was enough time for the Delanceys to get closer. He turned a sharp corner, running face first onto a girl, and both of them hitting the ground._

"_Excuse me," The girl said underneath Race, pushing him off of her. _

"_Sorry," He muttered, scrambling to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Morris and Oscar were still looking for him. _

"_Are you looking for someone?" The girl asked, her eyebrow raised._

"_See those two guys over there?" Race pointed to the brothers. "If they ask, you didn't see me." He smiled, climbing into an empty trash bin. "Thanks, doll." He said before putting the lid on, shutting off all light._

"_Hey, girlie." Race heard one of the brothers, Morris he believed. "We saw ya crash into a little son-of-a-bitch."_

"_Yeah?" The girl replied, her voice extremely calm. "What about him?"_

"_Where'd he go?" There was a pause. Race held his breath, hoping the girl wouldn't blow his cover._

"_He went that way." She said. Race heard the running footsteps, they were getting fainter and fainter. Someone was banging on the trash can. "Hey," It was the girl. "The two guys are gone. You can come out." The light blinded his eyes when she pulled up the trash lid. He began to climb out, but tripped over himself and toppled over, causing the girl to laugh._

"_Great job." He muttered. The girl reached out a hand to help him up. "Thanks."_

"_Your welcome." For the first time, Race got a good look at the girl, and she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He suddenly understood why Romeo would only sell to women. "I'm Lydia, by the way. Lydia Karlin. You are?"_

"_Tony," He said. Lydia cocked her head._

"_Is that all." She said, confused. Race suddenly felt self-conscious. It had never crossed his mind that people might find his name to be weird._

"_Its enough for me." He fiddled with his hat._

"_Oh, I'm sorry," She said. "That sounded so rude."_

"_Nah," Race shrugged. "Thanks for the help, but I gotta get back to work."_

"_Work?" Lydia looked excited. "What do you do?"_

"_I'm a newsie, ma'am." He said. Lydia rolled her eyes._

"_No need to sound formal with me, Tony." She said, lightly. "You look older than I am anyway." Race laughed. _

"_Thanks again, but I really gotta go."_

"_You don't have any newspapers with you." Lydia noticed. Race groaned, remembering he left them a few blocks back. Lydia opened her bag, pulling out a crisp dollar bill. "Her," She held it out for him._

"_Nah, its fine," Race didn't want to take this girl's money. "Maybe I can get Mr. Weasel-er-Wiesel to float me a few."_

"_Its going to be too late for you to sell any to anyone. All the rich people go to bed around this time." She shoved the dollar into his hand. "Please." His fingers curled around the money._

"_Thanks," He said once again, tipping his hat, and running back towards the lodging house._

"I ended up sharin that buck with Romeo." Race said. "That Jacobi's tasted good." Stars laughed.

"Ya know I can't give ya dollars anymore, right?" She asked. Race dug into his pocket, and fished out four tarnished quarters.

"Bout time I paid someone back what I owe em." He dropped the quarters into her pocket.

"Race…" Stars started saying.

"Don't even." He said, cutting her off.

"You gotta let me finish what I'm saying." Stars grabbed Race's hand. "You repaid me a long time ago." She said before planting a kiss on his cheek. "Love ya."

"Love ya too." He replied. He kissed her on the lips, the world melting away until they were the only ones that mattered. But they're little moment of happiness was interrupted when Race heard a blood curdling scream.

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><p><strong>Hey, I'm back, one month later. I noticed after I finished the chapter that Race meets a lot of people just by accidentally running into them. Eh, oh well. Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but I kinda ran out of idea for this chapter... so yeah.<strong>

**Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! I noticed that Romeo and Jack don't really interact with each other except for little like a minute right before World Will Know. That was originally going to be a separate one-shot, but it fit in too much that I just had to put it here. **

**This is sorta happier and fluffier than other chapters, but thats only because I needed to make the set up lighter so the pay off would crush everyone! Oh... did I say that out loud. ;) **

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!**

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><p>Chris backed into the wall of the closest building in the alleyway, her face gone of all color. Two young men she didn't recognize were in front of her, one of them keeping a firm grip on her wrist. She wondered if anyone had heard her cry, but it seemed no one had, as no one came to her aid.<p>

"St-Stay away from me," She stammered. "And leave me alone." The young man holding her wrist shook his head, smiling wickedly.

"Sorry, doll." He said. "We got orders from someone. Paid big money too." The other man pulled something out of his pocket. Chris didn't need a full view to know it was a brass knuckle. And that it had a one way ticket into her stomach.

She felt the first blow, and hit the ground hard, gasping for breath. Then another hit. And another. Her throat was growing raw from screaming, and tears poured down her cheeks.

"What do you want?" She asked, scared out of her mind. The two men crouched down to her level, not an ounce of remorse in their eyes. Chris leaned over and spat out blood, the sticky red liquid trapped on her dirt smeared face.

"It ain't what we want." The other man said. "Its what a friend of our's wants." Chris heard the click of a switchblade knife, and her eyes widened. "And I feel Mr. Snyder will be happy to know we avenged his dear, dead son."

"How do you know about that?" She kept her gaze on their shoes.

"We know a lot of things, girlie." One of the men grabbed a fistfull of her blonde hair, yanking her back up to her feet. "But it don't matter anyway. You're gonna be dead before you can find out." Chris kicked the man in the shin with all the strength she had left, but there wasn't much. She felt the cold metal of the knife on her skin, the man cutting a light gash through her shirt and arm. Beads of blood began running down her arm. She tightly shut her eyes, waiting for them to finish the job.

"Chris!" A girl's garbled voiced yelled.

"Stars?" She murmured.

"Let her go," Chris heard a boy's voice she didn't recognize, but it hurt to much to open her eyes. "Or so help me, Oscar, you ain't gonna be able to walk for a week." She felt the grip on her hair loosen, and crumpled to the ground, opening her eyes just enough to barely see what was going on. Stars and the sandy hair boy, Race she remembered, were standing in front of the two men, both looking livid with rage. Race was standing nearly on top of the smaller man, who Chris assumed was Oscar.

"Whaddaya gonna do about, doll?" The second man asked Stars, smirking. Stars glared at him, before kneeing him in the groin.

"That's what I'm gonna do." She said. "Gimme the knife, Morris." Morris, the man on the ground, struggled to his feet, and flipped Chris onto her stomach. Before she could even scream one last time, the switchblade knife was plunged into her abdomen.

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><p>"NO!" Stars screamed, running to Chris's side. She pulled Morris off of her friend, punching him square in the nose. "Get away from her!" Morris's face was blank. Oscar looked shocked, as if he hadn't known this was actually going to happen. The bloodied knife lay on the ground. Stars picked it up, holding it in front of Morris's throat. "Get outta here." She growled. The Delancey brothers ran away, and Stars dropped the knife. "Chris?" Chris's breathing was shallow. "Chris, can you hear me?"<p>

"Stars," Race said. "We gotta get outta here. Back to the lodging house." He picked up Chris. "C'mon." Stars stared at Chris, feeling as if her entire world was crumbling away.

They walked as quickly as possible without hurting Chris. Stars stared straight ahead, not feeling anything.

"Stars," Race began. Stars didn't answer. "Stars, she's gonna be okay. I promise."

"No," Stars whispered. "Don't make a promise like that. Don't make a promise you might not be able to keep." She pushed forward, not wanting to hear another word.

She flung the lodging house door open, the other boys crowding around them. They stared in silence, making way for Race and Stars to make it up the staircase.

"Finch, Henry, get a bucket of water and a washcloth. Jojo, get the extra blankets. Mush, Sniper, get the bandages. Mike, Ike, get a doctor. Here," Stars gave the two newsies a handful of her rainy day money. "Let em know there's more if they need it." Everyone stood in stunned silence. "Hurry!" The newsies ran in a frenzy, grabbing the things Stars instructed them to get. Romeo followed Race and Stars up the staircase, rubbing the back of his neck.

They set her down on Stars's bed, Chris's eyes still shut. Stars pulled a chair next to the bed.

"Race, take Romeo outside." Race nodded, taking Romeo and leaving Stars alone with Chris. "Chris? Chris, its me." Chris's eyes fluttered open.

"Stars…" Her voice was shaky. "Thank you…"

"What for?" Stars asked.

"You're my first friend in over four years. Sh-Showed me freedom for a little bit. It… it was wonderful. Glad I got to see it for a bit."

"No," Stars's eyes were misting. "No, you're gonna live, Chris." Chris was looking at the ceiling, murmuring something Stars couldn't hear. "What?"

"Mama…" Chris smiled. "Papa… I love you…" By the time the other newsies had gotten back with the stuff Stars had requested, it was too late. When the doctor came into the room, all he saw was a sixteen-year-old girl crying over a young blonde's limp body, the light faded from her hazel eyes.

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><p><strong>Good god, I am a horrible person! I'm SO sorry guys, that I came up with this idea. I promise that the next chapter will be a bit better! Please don't hate me! D:<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	13. Chapter 13

**So umm... remember when I said this next chapter would be a bit happier? Yeah... I kinda lied. Sorry?**

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><p>Romeo sat on the roof of Jack's penthouse, letting the evening air cool the back of his neck. He had been waiting for Race to come get him hours ago, but the older boy had never showed up. It seemed that all the other newsies were inside trying to make the best of the situation, telling Stars it was going to be okay and what-not, but Romeo knew better. Stars wasn't going to get over this. Romeo remembered how distraught she told him she was when she had thought he was dead, but this was different. Chris wasn't faking or anything. She was gone. Completely gone.<p>

He swung his legs back and forth, hanging them off the side of the penthouse. He remembered what Chris had said when they were talking, about how she wasn't from one of the most popular families. _Maybe she's with her Mama and Papa, _he thought. _I'll bet she's happy. _

Romeo climbed down the ladder. He could see the newsies from outside the window, all of them trying to console Stars, who was curled in a ball. Race was leaning on the windowsill, saying nothing. Romeo wanted to go talk to him, but restrained himself. Race wouldn't let Romeo go out again. Not to where he was planning to go.

The two dollars and twenty-five cents Romeo had nicked from Ms. Katherine Plumber were safely tucked inside his pocket. He felt bad from stealing from his friend, but she would understand, at least Romeo was pretty sure she would. He passed by a small stand, where an elderly woman sat reading a book. Romeo picked up a handful of dirt and smudged his face with it, praying it would work with his unruly hair and small stature, and make him look very young pathetic.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" He said to the elderly woman in a small voice. "Do ya got anythin stale you'se about to throw out? I can pay for it." With a trembling hand, he pulled out the quarter instead of the two dollars. The woman looked very sympathetic.

"Oh, you poor thing." She said, handing him a warm loaf of bread and a small cake wrapped in brown paper. "Here, darling." Romeo attempted to give the woman the quarter. "No need, sweetie. You look like you need that more than I do." Romeo smiled to the lady.

"Thanks ma'am." He said, and kept walking, the fresh loaf of bread warming his chest.

He stared at the gate of the Refuge, wondering if he was being stupid. Crutchie probably already knew about what had happened, but Romeo felt inclined to see him anyway. He climbed over the gate, hitting his ankle on the way down. He cursed under his breath, feeling the burning pain creep up his leg.

Romeo kept walking, hoping nobody would catch him outside. He could see the window where he had met Crutchie. Romeo was good at climbing up the walls, but it took a bit of extra effort holding the bread, and having a throbbing ankle didn't make it any easier.

He was met with a young fair haired boy of around eleven, smiling at Romeo with a chubby, babyish face.

"Hey, Ten Pin." Romeo said to the boy. Ten Pin waved.

"Romeo!" He replied excitedly. "How's the outside world?"

"The same." Romeo searched for another familiar face. "Is Crutchie around?"

"Yeah, wait a minute," Ten Pin turned around. "Hey, Crutch! Ya got a visitor!" Romeo saw a mangled and bloodied figure walking to the window with the help of two other kids. Romeo's eyes widened. It was Crutchie."

"Hiya, Romeo," Crutchie said. Romeo stared at the crippled boy. His blond hair was even more tangled than Romeo's was, his face a mixture of black, blue, and red.

"Crutch…" Romeo whispered. Crutchie raised his eyebrows in sadness. "I'm so sorry."

"Romeo, I already told ya. Don't worry bout me. Stars is back home, right?" Romeo nodded. "Well then, you did what you said you were gonna do. Get her outta here and safe." Romeo handed Crutchie the loaf of bread and the cake.

"Here," Romeo said. "Share the bread with the others. But," Despite everything else, Romeo smirked. "Keep the cake for yourself."

"Thanks, kid." Crutchie said. "So how're the other doin? Stars and all."

"Pretty good. I gave Jack your letter like ya said."

"How's he?"

"I think he's doin fine."

"What about Chris? Is she with Stars?" Romeo looked down, Crutchie didn't know.

"Crutchie…" He began. "I dunno how to say this, but…"

"What?" Crutchie asked. "What happened?"

"Its Chris, she's dead." Crutchie gasped.

"What…" The other boys in the room had gone silent.

"Chris… she's gone?" Ten Pin said. Romeo nodded. They heard the pounding of footsteps.

"Romeo, get outta here!" Crutchie exclaimed. Romeo climbed down quickly. He could see the outline of Snyder, but by the time the warden had come to the window, Romeo was already on the other side of the gate.

The young boy began running, into a neighborhood he hadn't seen in a long time. He saw a brick corner house, a man and a woman sitting by a window, both of them crying. Romeo sat just far enough that they couldn't see him, but he watched and waited until they left his view.

He stood up, running to the doorstep. Romeo lifted his arm to knock on the dark blue door. His knuckle was about to make contact, but it stopped mid air. He dropped his arm to his side, slowly backing away. As he was about to leave, Romeo locked eyes with the woman. They stared at each other, and Romeo felt like everything had stopped. The woman ran from the window, but before she could open to the door, Romeo had left. The woman stood at the doorstep, and Romeo felt as if his mother's tears were pelting on his skin.

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><p><strong>One of these days I will write something happy. Eh, oh well. Sorry guys. Anyways, r<strong>**eviews would make me happy! As always, if ya gots any ideas you'd like to see, my PM box is always open! **

**Newsies forever, second to none! :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well, I'm finally setting this story back on the actual plot line. Sorry if some events of the show have been dragged out or are a bit out of order. **

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><p>Stars lay in her bed, thin sheets barely covering her shaking frame. No matter how low and soft they spoke, she could hear every word the others were whispering. She knew they were talking about her, about Chris and what had happened with the Delancey brothers, and everything else. But she didn't care. Everything was numb to her. Even what the brothers had done, which the police had dismissed as an accident, had near faded from her memory. Stars didn't want to remember, she didn't want to remember anything anymore.<p>

"Stars?" Race was shaking her shoulder. "Wanna talk?" Stars limply shook her head from under her blanket. "Ya can't stay under there forever."

"I can damn well try," She muttered. "Please go away, I wanna be alone."

"Okay, well…" Race sat down at the foot of her bed. "You are goin to the rally tonight?" Confused, Stars peeked out from the corner of her sheets

"No, what rally?" She asked.

"We's are goin to Irving Hall after work today." Race explained. _Oh yeah, _Stars thought. _They're going back to work like none of this happened. _

"I think I'll just stay in tonight," Stars whispered. Race looked at her sadly.

"C'mon, Stars, get out of the bed." He grabbed Stars's wrist.

"Leave me alone, Race." She yanked her hand away, but he grabbed it again. "Race!"

"Stars, ya gotta get outta bed." He said. "C'mon," Stars sat up, yanking her hand away, and smacked Race, his head snapping to the left. Everyone stopped talking, all of them staring at Stars and Race, who was rubbing his cheek.

"Ju-" She met Romeo's gaze from across the hall. "Just leave me alone." She climbed out of bed, pushing the other boys out of the way, and climbed out the window.

Stars didn't know what she had just done. It was exactly like what had caused her to leave and become a newsie in the first place, slapping some guy across the face. The thought made her feel worse. She had pissed off her old family by hitting William Patterson, and had done the same to her new one by hitting a one Antonio "Racetrack" Higgins.

"Lyd?" Stars turned around. Romeo was standing at the other side of the window.

"Romeo," She replied simply, blinking away the tears that had began forming in her eyes. "Aren't ya supposed to be goin to work?"

"I just wanted to say bye before I left. The others say it too."

"Why don't they say it themselves then?"

"Cuz they're surprised…" Stars sighed, annoyed.

"Kid, I'm not in the mood to talk right now." Romeo opened his mouth, but Stars cut him off. "Just get to work, I'll see ya later." Romeo stared at her with wide eyes, but eventually left, leaving Stars in her solitude.

She listened as the sounds of the rowdy boys faded away before climbing back inside. She grabbed a pillow off the floor, pounding it with her fist to let her anger out. _Calm down, Lydia. _She mentally yelled at herself. _Just calm down! _Stars sighed, setting the pillow on her bed. She stood up, slipping her arms through her tweed vest and jammed her cap on her head. With her boots untied and her short hair a tangled mess, Stars ran down the stairs and out the front door, shutting it with a loud slam.

Stars was walking quickly, not listening to the offended sounds of the people she pushed away. She could slightly hear the other newsies as they ran to the distribution office, but still didn't want to talk to any of them. She had no money to buy newspapers anyway, she used all of it on the doctor and men who had taken Chris away.

She past by newsies square, seeing the Delancey brothers from the corner of her eye. Anger bubbled inside her, and she had the sudden urge to go up and punch the two murderers in the face. She watched as the newsies stood in line to get their papers. Even from where Stars was standing, she could see the look of fear in Weasel and the brothers' eyes. She saw Race and Romeo talking to Davey, who nodded. Stars watched as he grabbed Les's hand and stepped out of the line, making a fist at Weasel, and starting walking out of the square. Race flipped off the brothers before following Davey, Romeo in tow.

Stars moved to a different hiding spot, but before she could completely hide herself, she caught Race's eye, who smiled at her. He casually threw something to the ground, winking at her. Stars waited until the other newsies had left before coming out from behind the corner she was hiding at and picked up what Race had dropped, a crumpled piece of paper.

_Ya didn't actually think we were giving up now, did ya? Meet us at the rally tonight at 6. _

_-Race_

_PS: Ow! That slap really damn hurt!_

Stars folded the paper and put it in her pocket, and set off walking again. She felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Excuse me," Stars turned around to see a young woman with sparkling brown eyes and auburn curls holding a journalist's notepad.

"Oh, hi." Stars said awkwardly, taking off her cap. "You're Katherine, right?" The young woman nodded.

"And you're Stars." Stars cocked her head. "You're the only girl I've seen in their lodging house. The boys talk about you a lot."

"Dunno if that's good or not." Katherine giggled.

"You should have heard what Race had to say when I met up with them at Jacobi's. He wouldn't stop talking about how great you are." Stars's face turned a bright red.

"You should hear what Jack says about you." It was Katherine's turn to blush. Stars gasped. "No! You like him don't ya?" Katherine shrugged, her face turning even redder.

"To be honest, I haven't seen him for a few days." The more Stars thought about it, the more it occurred to her that no one had seen Jack in a while.

"If you're lookin for him, check Irving Hall. He paints when upset." Katherine nodded. "And I won't tell anyone if you do."

"If I do what?"

"If you like him." Stars smirked. Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Well… I don't, but thank you." Katherine smiled and left. Stars watched her go.

"Sure you don't."

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><p><strong>I really wanted to incorporate Katherine in at least a few chapters of this story, and had this weird idea that they would break their strong characters and gossip about boys. So there's that. Hope y'all liked! Please review! If you want to see anything written, don't be afraid to ask. My PM box is always open. Thanks!<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

Race stood at the door of Irving Hall, trying to catch a glimpse of Jack's gray cap in the mad rush of people. Romeo was pacing back and forth in front of the entrance worriedly, muttering things under his breath.

"Have you seen Jack?" He asked. Race shook his head. "Stars?"

"Sorry, kid," Race replied. "Neither one." Romeo sighed. Race turned back towards the street, starting to get nervous. He knew her should have been looking for Jack, but at the moment, all he wanted to see was Romeo sister. Race hoped Stars had seen the note he had left for her. He hoped that she would come. He also hoped she wouldn't slap him again, the last one had really hurt.

"Race, Romeo!" Finch called out. "Davey says to come back in. We's need help before Spot gets here." Spot Conlon. The very name gave Rave shivers.

"Race?" Romeo asked as the two boys walked through the hall to the main stage. "Do ya think Lyd-" Romeo stopped for a beat. "Stars… will she come?"

"Don't worry about her," Race assured. "She'll come." _I hope, _he thought.

"Oy, Higgins!" Albert said, motioning for Race to come over. "Is Jack coming or not?"

"He'll be here," Davey said before Race could answer. "He's just talking to Pulitzer." Race nodded quickly. Truth be told, he didn't trust Jack going alone, especially not to the very man the newsies were trying to win over. Nothing good ever happened when the newsie leader set out by himself.

"_Jack, wait!" a fourteen-year-old Race called, running after Jack. "At least let me come with you!"_

"_Sorry, kid," Race hated it when Jack called him a "kid", as he was only one year younger than their leader. "I don't wantcha gettin all tangled up in my business." Jack's business was meant to be a secret to the others, but it didn't take Race very long to put the pieces togethers. Jack would go out after the light were turned off, and when the newsies woke up, there would be new pairs of shoes or a vest for the older kids, and little cakes and penny candy for the younger. The small children thought it was Santa Claus or something, the older had no idea what to make of it._

"_Jack, your 'business' is something I can get tangled up in if it risks you landing yourself in the Refuge. Again." Jack sighed._

"_Race, if it makes ya feel any better, you'se is in charge till I get back." Race rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't worry bout me, I'll be back in an hour or so." The sandy haired newsboy bit his lip, but nodded slowly. His first big mistake in the downwards spiral._

"_Hey, Race, where's Jack?" asked a thirteen-year-old Crutchie when Race got back to the lodging house._

"_He's… out," Race pulled out a cigar from his pocket and lit it with a match. "Says he'll be back in an hour." Crutchie nodded happily, hobbling up the staircase. It pained Race not to tell the blond haired boy the truth. Jack meant more to Crutchie than the world itself. "Hey boys! Listen up!" Race yelled. The newsies poked poked their head out from the various places they were sitting or standing at "Jack's out doing…" he had to choose his words carefully. "Stuff. And-"_

"_What kinda stuff?" Elmer asked. Race shrugged._

"_Dunno. Just stuff." He lied. "Anyway, Jack says I'm in charge till he gets back." _

_The newsies waited. The minutes slowly ticked by, minutes turning to hours, and the hours turning to days. They had been sitting around impatiently for Jack for nearly a week now. Race came down the staircase early one morning to see Crutchie sitting on the final step, staring at the door, his eyes glassed over in a sort of daze._

_"Race," Crutchie asked. "Is he back yet?" Race shook his head sadly. "You said he would be back by now." Jack had been gone for three hours now. _

_"I know. I know." Poor Crutchie looked like he was going to cry._

_"What if something happened to him?" Race put a hand on Crutchie's shoulder. _

_"Don't you worry bout him, Crutch, Jack knows his way around." He stood up. "Just sit tight, I'll see if I can find him." _

_"Be careful," Crutchie whispered. Race stared at the crippled boy before sighing and opening the door. _

_"Jack?" Race yelled over the crowd. "Jack, this ain't funny, where are you?" He slipped by a pair of policemen who were talking quietly._

"_He's back where he deserves, I guess. The little bastard." Race stopped. _

"_Hey, mister!" He said. "Who are you talking about?" The policeman who had been talking stared at the young newsie._

"_That isn't your business, boy." Race gritted his teeth. "Unless you wanna end up where he is."_

"_Who is it?" He repeated. The second policeman looked a little more sympathetic. Race used it to his advantage. "Please. He my brother. Bout this tall, dark hair? Is that the boy you was just talking about?"_

"_Sorry, kid." The officer said. "That boy with the dair hair. He landed himself in the Refuge." Race breathing sped up. Jack couldn't be in the Refuge, not again. What was he going to tell Crutchie and the others?_

"_No," He whispered. "You're lying." The kinder officer tried to set a hand on Race's shoulder, but he swatted it away. "You're lying!" The boy took off running, tears beginning to blind him. _

_Race didn't stop running until he was back at the lodging house. Crutchie was still sitting at the foot of the stairs._

"_Where's Jack?" He asked. Race didn't know what to say. "Where is he?"_

"_I-I'm sorry," Race stammered. The horror of truth dawned on Crutchie. He struggled to his feet, leaning harshly on the rail. "Crutchie, I-" the blond boy turned his back to Race, limping up the staircase as fast as his busted leg would take him._

_"Race?" Romeo, who hadn't even turned eleven yet, poked his head out from behind a door. "Jack ain't coming back, is he?" The young boy threw his arms around Race's torso, and started to cry softly into his chest. _

_"No," Race whispered, hugging Romeo tightly. "He ain't gonna be coming back for a while." _

Race remembered that one day vividly, too vividly for his liking. He felt a strange and horrible feeling of déjà vu, and the fact that he wasn't there next to Jack, yet again, made his stomach churn.

"Race, you okay?" Romeo asked, pulling Race from his trance.

"Yeah," the lie escaped Race's lips before he could stop himself. "Just ready for this to start." _And ready for Jack and Stars to get here, _he thought.

"Brooklyn!" Les was jumping up and down excitedly, looking out the window. "Brooklyn's coming! And the others!" Race strained his neck to catch a glimpse or the other newsies as they came flooding into the theatre.

"They still ain't here," Romeo whispered.

"They'll come. They's just a little late, that's all." Race managed a weak smile, but he couldn't even convince himself anymore. "They'll come. They'll come." He was no longer talking to Romeo, but simply muttering to himself, trying to make best of the situation.

"Never fear, Brooklyn's here!" Race turned around sharply. Standing center stage, was the fierce leader of Brooklyn himself, Spot Conlon.

"Welcome, gents!" Medda said happily. "Welcome to my theatre, and to your revolution!" The boys cheered.

"Here's Spot Conlon!" Davey yelled. Race cheered and clapped along with the rest of the newsies, trying to push away the sinking feeling in his chest.

Race could see a small dark figure standing by the door in the audience, but he couldn't make out who it was.

"Hey, I'll be right back." Race said to no one in particular, before slipping into the shadows. "Hey," he whispered, trying not to interrupt Davey and Spot, "Who's there?"

"Keep your voice down, Racer!" A voice hissed. "I'm trying to watch!"

"Jack!" Race said excitedly, throwing his arms around Jack. "Where have ya been?" Jack shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Nowhere, just went out to clear my head." Jack mumbled. "Where's Stars?" Race's heart dropped.

"I was hoping _you_ would know." he said softly. "Haven't seen her all day." Jack rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, something he when when nervous. "Hey, you alright?" Jack shrugged.

"Listen, Race, I'm sorry." Race cocked his head.

"Sorry? Whaddaya got to be sorry about?" Jack's brown eyes shone with sadness.

"For what I'm about to do." Jack ran up the aisle.

"Jack, Jack wait!" Race ran after him. "What are you talking about?" He stopped. He listened to Jack, anger beginning to build up.

"Listen, I talked to Pulitzer, and he says if we disband the union, he won't raise the price for two years, and-" Jack was cut off by the enraged yelling of newsboys. Race couldn't move. He stared at his fearless leader, the boy he trusted with his life. Les ran up to Jack, tugging on his shirt sleeve. Jack's hand shot out, missing Les's face by a few inches.

Jack met Race's eyes. The sandy haired boy knew there was something going on with this plan. Jack wouldn't just sell them out like this.

"I'm sorry," Jack said. Those two words were barely audible over the clamor of the boys. Race struggled to get back up to the stage to meet his friend, but by the time he had pushed himself to center stage, the leader of their strike was gone.

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><p><strong>I seem to have a thing about torturing my characters, don't I? Sorry to say, my dear friends, but things are going to get a lot worse. Some of my friends from school gave me ideas for a lot of chapters, and... let's just say I may begin to torture the characters even more. We'll just have to wait and see. MWHAHAHAHA! ;)<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	16. Chapter 16

Romeo watched as Jack, the boy they all looked up to, gave up on all of them and ran away. He saw the other boys whispering to each other in hushed tones, the barely audible sounds blending together into a loud harsh blur.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Would he really hurt me?"

"He going insane!"

"We can do this without him… right?"

"I'm gonna kill him!" That last sentence, which Romeo guessed was Spot, pushed him over the edge.

"Will you all just shut up!" He screamed. The whispering stopped, all eyes landing on Romeo. He rubbed the back of his neck, shifting his gaze all over the theatre, and tried to avoid looking at any of the other boys in the eye. Spot glared at the younger boy, walking very slowly.

"Do you got any ideas then, kid?" Spot sneered. "Cuz I say, we bust the head of anyone who stand in our way! Am I right, boys?" The boys were cheering in approval. "So where do you stand, little lover boy?"

Romeo could feel the newsies' glares burning into him. Taking a deep breath, the thirteen year old swallowed his fear kept talking, praying his voice wouldn't waver from nervousness.

"I follow Jack, Conlon, not you. Where Jack goes, ya ain't seeing me far behind." He smirked, thinking carefully about what to say next. "Now you can just keep on talking in the safety of your borough while our money is torn from our pockets, or you can work with us and find Jack. Take your pick." Spot took a step back, looking a bit frighten but even more confused. No one had _ever _spoken to Spot Conlon like that without having a fist make contact with their stomach.

"Well," Spot said slowly. "Then whaddaya waiting for, kid?" Romeo half smiled. "Go find him." He looked for Race to bring him along, but the older boy was no where to be seen. "Go!" Spot shooed Romeo off the stage.

"Jack?" Romeo ran through the dimly lit streets, yelling Jack's name over and over. "C'mon, I wanna talk to you! Jack?" He passed by the alleyway behind Jacobi's, hearing the rustling of something near a garbage can. Listening carefully, Romeo noticed the sniffling of tears. "Hello?"

"Get outta here," A small voice mumbled. "Go back to the theatre."

"Jack?" The newsboy leader was sitting on the dirty ground, his back to a dumpster. "Whaddaya doing here? We've been looking for you."

"We?" Jack asked, practically spitting out the word. "Seems like you'se is this only one here." Romeo looked at Jack with wide eyes.

"Ja-Jack, you're worrying me. Come back." Jack stood up, a fiery look in his eyes that Romeo had never seen before.

"Ya don't get it, do you?" Jack threw his hands in the air. "You guys… you ain't worth it! I gotta way to get outta here, and I'm taking it!"

"Jack, what are you talking about?" Romeo asked, his voice getting smaller. "Please… what happened?"

"You all happened!" He exploded. "My life was perfectly fine without this stupid strike happening!"

"Jack, what happened at Pulitzer's?" Jack was moving closer and closer to Romeo, the fiery look turning to an eruption.

"Don't you get it?" Jack growled. "We're all worthless. Especially you!" The younger boy felt like he was going to pass out. "You've done nothing to help with anything! You're just a dumb ass kid!"

Romeo didn't feel the first punch until after he had hit the floor. Jack was on top of him, throwing a blow at any bare area. Romeo didn't try to stop the older boy, he could barely comprehend what was happening. He knew what was going on, one of his best friends had said he was worthless and dumb. That hurt him more than each hit he took by Jack.

"Stop," Romeo choked out. "Jack, stop." He shut his eyes tightly, trying to block out the truth. "Please." Romeo could feel the blood gushing from his nose and mouth. The sticky red liquid was pooling around him, sweat causing his tangled black hair to stick to his forehead.

"Oh my god," Everything stopped. Romeo could hear a buzzing in his ears, but he refused to open his eyes. "Romeo…" The young boy lifted his eyelids slowly. Jack was standing to his right, a look of pure terror on his face, and blood on his hands. He reached out to help Romeo up, but he swatted his hand away.

"Just go back," Romeo whispered. "Go away and go back." Jack gripped his cap and ran away. Romeo forced himself to a walk, trying to figure out where to go. He could go back to the theatre, the others would never trust Jack again. There was nothing back at the lodging house. It was too late to go back to see Crutchie. It pained Romeo, but he knew where he had to go.

Romeo found the blue door and knocked weakly, trying his hardest to stay conscious. The door opened slowly, and the man Romeo had never wanted to see in his life was standing in front of him.

"Help," He forced out before his knees buckled and was engulfed in darkness.

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><p><strong>Sorry, this is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to get something out before I get too busy. So... yeah. I'm sorry Romeo! <strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**

**PS: I put links to what I think the characters look like in my profile. Feel free to check it out! :D**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry I've been out for so long, BUT I SAW NEWSIES ON TOUR! :D Oh my goodness, it was absolutely fantastic. And as I was in such a giddy mood, I wrote an extra long chapter for you guys this time. I suppose it's deserved...**

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><p>Stars didn't stop running. She felt like her lungs had been filled with fire, but she didn't stop. No, she couldn't stop. She could tell that the soles of her shoes had worn so thin, she was starting to feel the hard pavement against her sock.<p>

"Stop the girl!" Snyder yelled. Stars knew that the police were getting closer and closer, and she didn't have the stamina to go any faster. _C'mon Stars, _she thought. _You're almost there. _But she couldn't do it. She just couldn't speed up anymore.

She felt a hard grip on her shoulder, and the next thing Stars knew, she was sprawled on the pavement, her chin scraping the ground. _I'm sorry, Race. I'm sorry. _A foot made contact with her stomach, making her cry out. Her breaths grew ragged as she was hit over and over.

Stars heard the sound of handcuffs being unlocked, and she waited for them to wrap around her wrists. She waited… and waited… and waited. But nothing happened.

"Help her up," A different voice instructed. Stars felt a different, gentler arm wrap around her torso, helping her back up to her feet. She stumbled, black and white spots dancing before her eyes.

"Hey," the voice whispered to her. "We're getting you outta here." And with that, Stars was picked up and carried from the crime scene, feeling too woozy to even find out who had saved her.

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><p>Race sat on the edge of the stage, letting his feet dangle off the side. He pulled a cigar out from his pocket, and searched for a match. He cursed under his breath, remembering he had left his box of matches in his other pants.<p>

"Need a light?" Someone behind him asked. Race turned around. Spot Conlon smirked at him, throwing his box of matches in the air. Race sighed, putting the cigar back in his pocket.

"Nah, not now." He said, staring at the ground. Spot sat down next to him. "Whaddaya want, Conlon?" Spot feigned hurt.

"Am I not allowed to talk to my fellow newsie now?" Race rolled his eyes, not really listening. "Kelly's really bothering ya, ain't he?"

Race nodded, anger flashing through his eyes. "I wanna kill him."

Spot shook his head. "No ya don't." A smirk tugged at the Brooklyn boy's lips. "Only I'se allowed to kill other newsies."

"You don't really think Jack turned on us for the money, right?"

"I don't gotta clue," Spot admitted. "But who wants to know anyway?"

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><p>Romeo lay on what was once his bed, tracing the cracks on the wall. His old parents stood at the other side of the bedroom door, speaking as quietly as possible, although Romeo could hear every word.<p>

"What do we do with him, Peter?" Mrs. Karlin asked, genuine concern lacing her voice. "I've seen him come around here before."

"I don't even know him," Mr. Karlin replied. "He just came to the door, asked for help, and then fell on the doorstep."

Romeo groaned softly as he stood up, putting an ear to the wall to hear better.

"Peter, that boy. H-he looks like… like…" Romeo heard his mother's voice crack as she began to cry. "He looks like Matthew. Older, of course, but… Peter, it could be Matthew. _Matthew might still be alive_."

The young boy felt like he was going to begin crying as well. He walked backwards, tripping over the thick rug on the floor, and hitting his head on the bedpost.

The door swung open. Mrs. Karlin ran inside, seeing Romeo lying on the rug.

"Oh dear," She whispered, helping Romeo up. "Let's get you back under the covers."

"Th-thanks," Romeo mumbled. "I just fell… out of bed. Nightmare." Mrs. Karlin stared at the floor sadly.

"My son used to fall out of bed all the time." She said, tucking Romeo back into the blankets.

"Sorry, ma'am, don't wanna be rude, but what happened to your son?" Fresh tears sprang up in his mother's eyes.

"He ran away. Four years ago." Instinctively, Romeo wrapped an arm around his mother, witnessing a side to her he had never seen before. "My husband believes he died. And now my daughter's gone too."

"What if they ain't gone?" Romeo asked. "I'll bet they're around here somewhere." _One of them's in front of you_. He added in his mind.

"We've given up hope. I suppose we just weren't meant to have children." Mrs. Karlin wiped away her tears with a handkerchief.

Romeo didn't know what to say. Here he was, talking to his mother for the first time in four years, and he was completely tongue tied.

"I-I'm sorry," He said. "But I can try to find them, if I can." _You're looking at your son. I'm right here! _He wanted to scream. _Mama, I'm right here!_

Well, thank you, child." Mrs. Karlin whispered. She furrowed her brow, pondering something. "Child… oh dear! I forgot to ask a name!" It sparked in Romeo's mind that he hadn't given one.

"I'm… uh…" _What are you doing! _He argued with himself. _Just tell her! _He took a deep breath. "Tony," He said finally. "Tony Higgins."

* * *

><p>Stars felt a battering ram pounding away at her head. She didn't want to open her eyes for fear of seeing the truth unfold around her. She was lying on a hard bed, a mattress much like the one from the Refuge. <em>No, <em>she thought. _I can't be back there. _She began to toss in the bed. _Race? Romeo? Someone!_

There was something cold pressed against her forehead. It felt both really nice and absolutely awful at the same time. _Race? Romeo? Where are you?_

"They aren't here," a voice soothed. Stars's eyes snapped open. Her vision was still blurred, and all she was the outlines of two men. Her breathing sped up as she began to panic.

"Where am I? Where's Race and Romeo?" Stars tried to sit up, but a pair of hands were set on her shoulders, lightly pushing her back down onto the bed. "Race! Romeo!" She screamed for them until her voice grew ragged.

"Stars listen to me," the voice commanded. "You ain't well. We're gonna get Race to take you home, but you need to lie down."

"Wh-Who are you?" Stars whimpered. There was the sound of a door being pounded on.

"Morris! Oscar!" the gruff voice at the other side of the door yelled. "Get your sorry asses down here!"

* * *

><p>Race was pacing back and forth on the stage of Irving Hall, talking to himself and ignoring the weird looks he was getting from the other boroughs.<p>

"Where'd she go?" He muttered. "She shoulda gotten here by now. Where is she?"

"Race," Finch called, waving Race over. "C'mere." Finch was looking out one of the windows, watching over the busy streets below.

"What?" Race asked, standing next to him. "Didja see see Stars?"

"Not exactly," Finch said seriously. "But look!" Race followed Finch's pointed finger. Standing anxiously at the theatre's entrance were the last people Race wanted to see at the moment.

"Wait here," He grumbled, leaving the window. In all honesty, Race had no desire to open the door, but the sooner he could figure out what they wanted, the sooner he could get them to leave.

"What the hell do you want?" Race growled. The Delancey brothers weren't wearing their usual smirks. The looks were replaced by ones of sadness and concern, things that usually weren't associated with the two brothers.

"We need your help," Morris said. Race scoffed.

"And why would I want to help you?" He asked.

"Cuz it ain't for our benefit." Oscar grabbed Race's wrist. "It's for Stars."

* * *

><p>Romeo sat at the table, playing with the food Mrs. Karlin had set for him. He could feel Mr. Karlin staring at him as if he were an animal being studied. It made Romeo extremely uncomfortable.<p>

"So," Mr. Karlin said, breaking the awful silence. "What did you say you're name was"

"Oh… um," Romeo rubbed the back of his neck. "Tony. It's short for Antonio."

"How did you get hurt, _Tony_?" Mr. Karlin practically spat out the name. Romeo wasn't sure if Mr. Karlin, he could bring himself to think of the man as father, actually wanted to know what had happened or if he was just interrogating him. Either way, Romeo didn't like it.

"It was…" He didn't want to answer truthfully, but he couldn't bring himself to lie, not again. "Parents." He whispered, putting on a pitiful face. "They aren't being the nicest at the moment."

Romeo pretended not to notice the pained look on his parent's faces, keepin his gaze instead on his food.

"I'm sorry, boy." Mr. Karlin said, not even looking at Romeo, but over his head at the back wall. The boy turned around, trying to see what Mr. Karlin was looking at. There was a picture hanging on the wall, the same picture Stars had kept in her journal.

"Is that…" Romeo already knew the answer, but he felt it was only polite.

"The girl was… _is _our eldest, Lydia," Mrs. Karlin said. _Stars actually. _"The boy is Matthew."

Romeo didn't want to stay another minute. It made him feel too guilty. He stood up from the table, grabbing his cap on the way to the door.

"I'm sorry," He called, pulling the heavy door open. "I have to go." Mr. Karlin ran after him.

"Wait, boy," He said, grasping Romeo's shoulder. "If you happen to find Lydia or Matthew, please tell them we love them, and we… I… am very sorry."

"I know you are." Romeo replied. "I'll tell them." He smiled, sticking a hand out for Mr. Karlin to shake. _And I think I forgive you._ He pulled his cap over his eyes, and with a final glance at his parents, he slipped out the door, closing it softly.

* * *

><p>Stars pulled her feet to her chest, waiting. <em>Why are Morris and Oscar helping me? <em>She wondered. _They hate me. I… I hate them. _

But she wasn't completely sure if she really did hate them. Hate was too strong of a word. Stars didn't think she could hate anyone. People were bad, but she couldn't hate anyone, no matter how hard she truly wanted to.

She felt her eyelids getting heavy. _I gotta stay away till Race gets here. I gotta stay awake. Stay awake… _but she was already descending back into dream world.

* * *

><p>Race knew he shouldn't be believing the Delancey brothers as he ran along with them to their apartment below the distribution office, yet here he was.<p>

"Just as a warning," He said. "If you're lying to me, I'll do worse than what you did to Chris." Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have said that, but it did get the message across.

"We ain't lying," Oscar protested. "Trust us." A part of Race was certain he was walking into a trap, but he kept on running with them.

Morris motioned for Race to be quiet as he unlocked the door and went inside, Oscar and Race following suit. The corridor was dimly lit, but to Race it was bright as day.

"Stars?" He asked, seeing a limp body lying on a cot. He turned his heels to the brothers. "What'd ya do to her?"

"Calm down," Morris said. "She's just sleeping. She's fine." Race picked up his girlfriend, walking in between the Delanceys.

"Thanks," He muttered, leaving the building.

He kept on walking back to the lodging house with Stars in his arms, feeling her shaking.

"Race!" A very familiar voice called. Romeo ran up to the older boy, seeing Stars. "Is she…"

"She asleep, it's okay. I'm just taking her back to the lodging house. C'mon." He nodded for Romeo to follow, and the three, two if you only count the conscious ones, went back to the lodging house, none of them uttering a word.

* * *

><p><strong>Love it? Hate it? Ready to throttle me? Please let me know! <strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Well since I spent such a large time away from writing, I made sure to have a new chapter up as quickly as possible. Luckily, now that school is over, I should have more time to write. :D**

* * *

><p>Race set Stars down on her bed, hoping he wouldn't wake her. She had had a long and tiring day, they all had. Romeo just stood against the bedpost, his deep brown eyes pouring into Race's gray ones. He could see the sadness in Romeo's face, the sadness that seemed to be everywhere.<p>

"The others will be back soon," He said. "Let them know not to wake Stars."

"Race?" Romeo sat at the foot of Stars's bed. "You tell the newsies. I'm staying with my _sister_." Race noticed the emphasis on the final word. He choked down the feeling of jealousy that had suddenly washed over him.

"Yeah, sure," Race stared at his shoes. _What is wrong with you? _He mentally yelled. _You have know no right to be jealous. That's his sister! _But he couldn't push away the sinking feeling in his stomach.

He had been a newsie for longer than anyone else at the lodging house, even Jack. Race had seen all the times Jojo cried into the baby blanket his mother had made for him fourteen years ago, was always the first to try the food Henry tinkered with based on old family recipes, hell he always listened to Jack talk about how he was going to Santa Fe like his parents had wanted to. The all had something to hold onto, something they could use to remember what the old lives were like before they became a newsie.

Race didn't have any of that.

* * *

><p>Romeo watched Race leave before turning and sitting at his own bed, reaching under his pillow. He hadn't opened the journal in what seemed like forever, but he didn't want Stars to hear what he had to say, not yet anyway.<p>

_Dear Stars,_

_I don't even know the date anymore. With the strike going on, everyday seems to smash together. You're sleeping across from me right now, but I gotta tell you something. Don't be mad._

_I went home. Only for a little bit, but I talked to Mama and Father for the first time in a long time. I think you were right. They really seemed to have changed. Mama told me things, what it was like for her after I left and stuff. She didn't know it was me. I kinda told her I was Race. Or Tony. Father said if I/Race found you and me, then I had to bring us home. I said I would. Maybe, Stars, we could go home for a visit. Not forever, but just to let them we are still alive. _

_Please. Just think about it._

_Romeo_

"What'cha writing?" Romeo looked up from the journal.

"Stars, how ya feeling?" Stars sat up, rubbing her head.

"Like my head was just split in two." She admitted. "What happened? When's the rally?"

"You missed it. It's almost midnight. Where were you during it all?" Stars bit the inside of her cheek.

"I… I dunno." Romeo set the journal down, crossing to his sister. "I was running from Snyder… and then I just woke up here." She cracked a guilty smile. "I was having a weird dream."

"Yeah? What about?"

"The Delancey brothers were there. There were… being kinda nice." There was a look of realization on Stars's face. "Romeo… were you the one who… ya know…" Romeo stared at his sister.

And he shook his head.

"Race?" Stars almost looked desperate. Romeo shook his head again.

"That wasn't a dream."

* * *

><p>Race sat at the bottom the staircase, his head leaning against his hands, waiting for the newsies to come back. That seemed to be all he was doing lately, just waiting. He could feel his eyelids getting droopy. <em>No, Race. Stay awake for a little bit longer! C'mon. <em>But he couldn't help himself. His hat fell off as his eyelids slowly closed.

_Antonio sat at his dining room table doing his homework, listening to his father playing the piano._

"_Mama, when will dinner be ready?" He asked over his shoulder. Mama's twinkling laugh was the reply._

"_Soon _caro_. Very soon," Antonio smiled, returning to his homework. Papa stopped playing the piano, sitting down next to his son._

"_Why did you stop, Papa?" Antonio wondered. Papa ruffled the young boy's hair._

"_To see what you are doing of course." There was a twinkle in Papa's eye. "Tony, do you what day it is tomorrow?" Antonio broke into a large smile._

"_My birthday!" He started bouncing in his chair. _

"_That's right!" Papa pulled something out of his pocket. "And since you're becoming a big boy, I think it's time for you to see where I work."_

_Antonio gasped. "You mean!" Papa handed the boy a ticket to the Sheepshead Races._

"_Giuseppe!" Mama cried. "He's too young!"_

"_And why's that? My papa took me to see it when I turned seven. It was something." Papa winked at Antonio, who just couldn't sit still._

"_Grazie, Papa!" He threw his tiny arms around Papa's torso._

_"I promise you Tony, it will be a day to remember."_

And that was one of the few things Race did remember. It was funny really, there were so many things Race didn't seem to know about himself, but the things he can keep in memory are the ones he wants to get rid of.

A hand was on Race's shoulder, lightly shaking him awake.

"Papa?" He murmured.

"How old do you think I am?" Race opened his eyes. Jack was standing in front of him, Davey and the rest of the newsies in tow. Race crawled up a few steps, baring a fist at Jack.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Davey stepped forward. "Race, everything's good now, calm down." Race stared at Jack, then let his fist fall limply to his side.

"Well then," Jack said. "Newsies, stay here until we come back to get you. Race," He tossed Race his cap. "You'll stay with me and Davey. Let's go."

"Okay…" Race stood up warily. "Where we going?"

"I'll explain on the way," Davey reassured him. "Now c'mon!" Race followed Jack and Davey, but the sound of yelling newsies stopped him.

"Oy!" Race yelled after them. "Stars is sleeping upstairs! Shut up!" And he shut the door.

The night was warm and the streets were empty. Jack and Davey were walking quickly, whispering to each other. Race just followed him, trying to hear the conversation.

"Hey!" He said finally. "Can you tell where the hell were going, and what the hell we're doing?"

"We'll meet with Katherine in a few minutes. She has the keys." Jack was smiling.

"Keys to what? And why do we need Katherine?" Davey smacked himself in the head.

"Sorry," He said. "Explaining. Katherine has this great plan. We're going inside the World and-"

"I'm stopping you there," Race interrupted. "We's are going _inside _the World? You're kidding me right?"

Jack shook his head. "No we ain't kidding, now shut up and let him finish."

"Right," Davey continued. "So Katherine had written the article, and Jack knows about this old printing press in Pulitzer's cellar. And… well we're going to be using it." Race gaped at him.

"And you're supposed to be the smart one?" He asked. He heard a tisking noise behind him.

"Well he's the smartest any of you are going to get." Katherine laughed. There were two young men behind her that Race didn't recognize, both of which dress really nicely. "C'mon."

Katherine pulled out a ring of keys from her pocket, jingling them in Jack's face who was smirking at her. Race just rolled his eyes.

"Well are we going to be doing something or what?"

Katherine nodded for the boys to follow her. There was the creaking of the gates when Jack opened them. The sound made Race cringe. They kept walking, careful not to be too loud. Katherine led the way to the outside entrance to the cellar and unlocked it.

"And the revolution begins." She whispered, grinning ear to ear.

* * *

><p><strong>I used some Italian words in this chapter by the way, so just so you all know:<strong>

_**CARO**_**= darling**

_**GRAZIE= **_**thank you**

**So grazie to all of you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Newsies forever, second to none!**


	19. Chapter 19

Stars was curled up in a ball, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. While the boys were gathered around the door downstairs waiting for whoever was getting them to go wherever they were going next, she sat in the darkness, thinking.

_How is that possible? Why would they help me? I thought they wanted me back in the Refuge… or dead. Like Chris._

_Chris_. She would never be able to forget what the Delancey brothers did to her friend. Stars didn't know the blonde girl very well, but she was certain that they would be friends until they died. That came too soon.

_I gotta see them again. I gotta know what they did. And why they did it._

"Hey, Stars!" Romeo yelled up the staircase. "C'mere!" Stars got out of bed slowly, rubbing a sore shoulder.

"Keep your pants on, I'm coming!" She called back, grabbing her boots. She ran down the stairs, awkwardly trying to get her shoes on as she moved. "What's going on?"

The newsies were still gathered at the door, whispering excitedly to each other. Stars hung near the back, uncertainly. She shifted around on the balls of her feet, eventually losing her balance, and toppling into someone else.

"Oh, sorry," She muttered, mentally glaring at herself for being so clumsy.

"Not a problem, doll." Stars turned around. A boy she didn't know was smiling cockily at her.

"You're Spot Conlon, I presume." She said, spitting into her hand and sticking it out for him to shake.

"You presumed correctly," He replied, and spat into his own hand. It had taken Stars awhile to get used to all the spitting that was involved with greetings and deals, but everyone of the boys just sort of did, so she felt compelled to get over how gross it was. "You'se Race's goil, right?"

"Yeah," She nodded.

Spot winked at her. "Well, if you're ever in Brooklyn-"

"In your dreams, Conlon." It was Stars's time to smirk, as she noticed the split second when Spot's cocky demeanor wavered.

"Oy!" Henry, who was at the front of the group called. "We's are moving!" The door swung open, and the newsies flooded out of the lodging house.

Stars saw Race near the front of the group. She wasn't at her maximum energy due to the events from the day before, but she pushed herself hard enough to catch up to him.

"Hey, do you have any idea what we're doing?" She asked Race.

"According to Jack, we're making our own pape."

"How are we making our own pape?"

"There's a printing press in Pulitzer's cellar. Our king of New York, Katherine-"

"Huh?"

Race realized something. "Oh, you weren't there for that, sorry. Anyway, Katherine wrote a little something. She got a couple of friends to help print. And we's are hawking it. Simple."

"Okay… I'm just going to pretend I understood some of that." She smiled. Race took her hand.

"Good to see you back to your regular self."

"I told off Spot Conlon, back at the lodging house," She gloated. Race looked impressed.

"Hm. I've taught ya well."

* * *

><p>Romeo stared at the printing press in wonder. One of Katherine's friends, Darcy he thinks, tossed him a rag. He began rubbing the metal of the press, trying to make it shine. He watched Davey help Bill, the other man Katherine brought, put backwards metal letters on a block. He was still really confused by what they were doing, but he understood most of it. Take the papes, give them to anyone who seemed younger than 21, and try not to get caught. Easy, right?<p>

"Race? Where ya gonna go? You know, to give out the papes?" Race shrugged.

"Dunno. It don't really matter anyways. Why you asking?"

"Just wondering." Romeo clicked his tongue awkwardly. He shifted his gaze back to the printing press, rubbing the rag harder.

"That should be good," Darcy said, taking the rags back. Romeo watched as Spot and Finch pumped their feet to make the press work as Race fed blank paper onto a slow moving platform. Romeo took the finished newspapers and tied them into bundles of 25.

"Grab a bundle or two." Jack instructed. "Pass em out to any kid. Then meet us back at newsie square."

The boys nodded, tossing the bundles of newspapers to each other. Romeo grabbed two stacks of papers, and with a nod from Davey, ran out of the cellar.

* * *

><p>Race was lying when he said he didn't know where he was going to give out the newspapers. In all honestly, he just didn't want Romeo to follow him. He loved his little brother, but he needed to do something alone before the sun came up.<p>

He left the cellar in silence, taking only one bundle of newspapers with him. Streetlamps dotted the sidewalks, sputtering on and off. It took him awhile to remember the way back, he hadn't been there in a long time, but Race found the painted sign of the place that both saved and destroyed his life. The Sheepshead race track.

Race wondered if there would be as many children as there were when he used to live there. Most of them had probably grown up or were in the Refuge for loitering. He passed by a young boy, staring into an empty garbage can. Race looked at the boy. He looked a lot like a younger version of him.

"Hey, kid," He said. The boy looked up, and Race could see the fear shining in his crystal blue eyes. "Can you read?"

"Y-Yes, sir," The boy mumbled. Race untied one of the papers from the bundle.

"Come to newsie square at 9:00. And," He dug a nickel from his pocket. "Go buy yourself a breakfast." The little boy's dirt streaked face broke into a wide smile. Before Race realized it, the boy's tiny arms were wrapped around his torso.

"Thanks mister," The boy whispered. Race smiled lightly, hugging the little kid back.

"You're welcome, kid." He whispered back. "You're welcome."

* * *

><p>"Extra, extra!" Stars yelled, as if this were any other regular newspaper. "Come to newsie square!" She wanted to get rid of her papers as quickly as possible so she could go and get her answers.<p>

"Say, girl," A man in his early twenties strode toward her, making Stars seize up. "This paper isn't out yet. What are you selling?"

"I ain't selling," She replied. "Just take this." She handed the man one of the papers. "If you wanna make a difference, come to newsie square." And she ran away.

It only took her about an hour to give out all her newspapers. There were more children in the street that could read than she thought. It worked in her favor at least. She needed to go somewhere else once she was done.

Stars didn't know where she could find the Delancey brothers, or how actually. But she just knew she needed to see them again for, well, she wasn't quite sure. To get answers? To say thanks for saving her? There were a lot of things that she could do, but which should she say first?

She stood at the gate to the distribution center, shaking the bars back and forth to make noise, though she doubted anyone heard her. She thought about trying to climb over the gate, but in her state, she would have just fallen and injured herself even further.

"Whaddaya doing, trying to beat down the gate or something?" Stars turned around. The very two people she was trying to find were right behind her. Oscar raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Whaddaya looking for?"

"Actually, you two."

"Well, you found us," Morris said. "Now what?"

"I need to talk to you."

"What do you think we're doing, dumbass?" Oscar snickered. Stars rolled her eyes.

"I'll get straight to the point. Why did you help me?" The smirks fell from the brother's faces. Morris nodded towards the back alley behind the distribution office.

"C'mon," He said, already moving with Oscar in tow. "Well, hurry up!" Stars stumbled catching up. The three stood in an awkward silence, Morris leaning against a wall.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened or what?"

Oscar stared at his shoes. "We felt bad."

"About what?" Stars pushed. "Me getting beat up. Cuz you've given me a few good blows before with no problem and-"

"For killing Chris!" Morris blurted out. "We felt bad about… about what we did to her."

Stars couldn't move. They saved her because of Chris, the innocent girl they had _murdered_.

"Then why is she dead?" Tears welled up in Stars's eyes. "Why did you have to kill her? She didn't do anything!"

"We didn't want to." Oscar said. Stars noticed that he was beginning to cry as well. "We weren't going to. We just wanted to… scare her or something."

"Snyder wanted her dead." Morris picked up where his brother left off. "We don't know why, but he told us to."

"Since when did you follow what Snyder said?"

"When he promise to let out our little brother!" Oscar clamped a hand around his mouth. Stars gawked at him.

"You have a little brother?"

"You do, can't we?" Oscar argued.

"Actually, I have two," Morris said. "This one over here, and a seven year old."

"Is… is the other one in the Refuge?" The brothers nodded. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You might as well know the full story." Oscar chewed his lip nervously. "I mean, everyone kinda sees us as evil henchmen."

"We have good reason to," Stars muttered.

"Yeah, I know." Morris admitted. "But, we felt like we owed it to you. To _her_. I mean, we didn't know her at all, but she seemed good. She didn't need to be in the Refuge."

"Neither does your little brother," Stars replied. She started to leave. "Oh, and thank you. For helping me."

And she just walked away in silence.

* * *

><p>"C'mon, kids of New York! We's are gonna do something important. Come to newsie square!" Romeo just started tossing the newspapers in the air, someone was bound to pick at least one of them up. He needed to get rid of the rest of them, time was running out.<p>

He dropped the papers behind him like they were Hansel's breadcrumbs, not really paying attention to where he was going. The sun was slowly rising, turning the sky a burnt red color. Lights in people's houses were beginning to turn on.

"Tony? Tony Higgins?" Romeo's eyes widened. He hadn't realized where he was until the dark blue door was open.

"Ma-" He stopped himself before say _Mama_. "Hello, ma'am."

"What are you doing out here so early in the morning?" Mrs. Karlin asked.

"I could asked you the same question, ma'am." He replied uneasily. "Just, doing some work."

"You're awfully young to be working."

Romeo shrugged, "I gotta make a living somehow."

"Don't your parents work. You should be going to school."

"I… um…" Romeo rocked back and forth. "I ran away." The pained look in Mrs. Karlin's eyes was back.

"Tony, if you ran away, the police will be looking for you. Your parents must be worried sick. And-"

"They think I'm dead." Romeo said suddenly before he could stop himself. He stared at his mother. "I… I mean…"

"They think you to be dead?" Mrs. Karlin's tone was no longer sympathetic but harsh and interrogative.

"Y-yes ma'am," He stuttered. Mrs. Karlin grabbed his shoulder forcefully, making him wince.

"Matthew…" She said. Romeo's breathing grew rapid, and he did the only thing he could do.

He ran as fast as he could.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that chapter was full of not so subtle references. How many can you count? Just as a heads up, I will not be updating for awhile. I know I just left the chapter at an awful moment, but I have a three week sleep away camp with no internet connection that I will be going to, so I'll see you after that. Also, the idea of Morris and Oscar having a seven year old brother goes to one of my closest friends and editor of this story. So thanks, thelittlestbee. Our strange talks we had during lunch actually paid off! :D<strong>

**Newsies forever second to none!**


	20. Chapter 20

Race caught himself thinking of the little boy from the track, although he didn't know why. He had seen so many other children in the streets, so how come this one kid was so special? _It don't matter, _he thought, _If he comes to the square, I'll just see him again._

"Hey, Romeo!" He called, seeing his little brother.

"Oh, hey." Romeo replied, carrying his feet behind him as the two friends walked. Race nudged the dark haired boy's shoulder.

"What happened?" Romeo chewed his bottom lip. "You'se is thinking bout home, ain't ya?"

"How'd you know?"

"You always chew your lip when you're thinking about Midtown. What happened?" Romeo sighed.

"I ran into my Mama." He murmured. "You know, after I left the rally, some stuff happened with Jack and-"

"What did Jack do?" Race asked, clenching a fist. Romeo noticed, and casually tried to wave it off.

"That don't matter," He said quickly. "Anyway, I didn't know where else to go, and I thought you all had gone home, and I knew if you saw me, you'd flip-"

"Well, ya ain't wrong." Race smiled lightly, making Romeo laugh.

"Yeah, so, I needed to go somewhere, and I… I went home." Race stared at his friend.

"My god, kid. Does Stars know?" Romeo shook his head.

"I wrote it in her journal, she'll see it soon enough."

"So what happened? When you were there?" Race pressed.

Romeo chewed his lip so hard, he started to taste blood. "Don't get mad, but I freaked out, and when Mama asked my name, well, I said I was you."

Race rubbed the back of his neck, "You were being me?"

"I panicked!" Romeo protested. "But after I left, I promised that I would bring Stars and myself, Matthew really, home."

"Are you?" Race asked, choking down his feelings. Romeo needed to speak, even if it pained him to hear.

"Maybe." Romeo whispered. "Should I?"

"Depends if ya wanna or not. But-" Race added, "Would it be forever?"

"I dunno. I guess I would still work, but I dunno."

Race clasped his hands together, "It don't matter right now. First we gotta finish the dumb strike and move on with our lives."

"Do ya really think we'll win?" Race ruffled his friend's dark hair.

"I certainly hope so. You've got a mama to see." Romeo looked up at Race, smiling.

"Race?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"What was your family like?"

Race was caught off guard, "I… I don't remember very much. The newsies have been my family since I was seven."

"Did ya have any siblings?"

"Nah." Romeo looked like he felt bad. "If it makes ya feel any better, I got the best little brother walking next to me right now."

"Would ya like to meet them? My parents, I mean."

"Romeo," Race's blue eyes were sparkling. "Once we have won this strike, the first thing we's are doing is saying hello to your parents."

* * *

><p>Stars was at the circulation center, holding her journal tightly. She was the first one there, though she could see Jack and the others getting closer. She looked up and waved at Hannah, who was staring out of Pulitzer's window. Stars couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like the secretary was smiling at her.<p>

"Spot, Davey!" Jack yelled, running to the square with the newsies in tow. "You'se are coming with me."

"Hey, Stars," Davey said, gently pushing Les towards her. "Watch him. Make sure he doesn't follow us." Stars looked at Les, and smiled subtly.

"Got it," She replied. Davey nodded, and ran to catch up with Jack and Spot. Once she knew he couldn't see them, she pulled her crossed fingers from behind her back, winking at Les. "We're following them, aren't we."

Les nodded excitedly, an evil twinkle in his eyes. "Let's go!" He grabbed Stars's wrist, and they pushed through the kids who had already gotten there. "Stars, hurry up!"

Stars rolled her eyes, pulling the heavy door open, and they went inside. Les was hopping around the hallways that the two explored.

"This is so cool!" He squealed, giggling.

"Sh!" Stars shushed him. "Follow me." She could see the running shadows of Jack, Davey, and Spot. Les picked up his pace, dragging Stars down the hallway. "Les!"

"Stars! I wanna hear!" Stars sighed. _I'm regretting this. _She thought.

They watched as Jack swung open a fancy looking door and ran inside, Davey and Spot not too far behind. Before the door closed completely, the two slipped inside, hiding behind Pulitzer's velvety chairs.

"Any man who doesn't act in his own self interest is a fool!" Pulitzer grumbled.

"Stars, can I punch him?" Les whispered. Stars laughed silently.

"On the way out," She replied softly.

"And what does that make you?" Davey exclaimed. _And you wonder why we call you Mouth, Dave._ "This all began because you wanted to sell more papers. But now your circulation is _down _seventy percent! Why couldn't you just talk to us?"

"Yeah," Les wondered. "That would have made this so much easier."

Stars knocked the back of his head, "Oh, shut up and listen." Jack and Pulitzer took turns yelling at each other, and she had finally gotten Les to be quiet.

"Mister Kelly, may I speak with you, _alone_." Pulitzer looked towards his chairs. Stars seized up, thinking they knew she and Les were hiding back there, but no one said anything else.

"Les, move," Stars took Les's hand, and as Davey and Spot left with Pulitzer's assistants, the two moved their hiding spot to underneath the desk in the center of the room, somehow not being seen by anyone.

"I cannot put the price back down where it was, I'm sorry, I just can't." _Sure you can, you just don't want to._

"I get it, Joe, ya gotta keep a brave face in front of all these people. I'm young, I ain't stupid."

"I'm glad you understand."

"But I'm a constituent with a legitimate gripe!" Les tugged on Stars's sleeve.

"What does that mean?"

"I have no idea. Just keep listening." _And shut up! _She wanted to add. Pulitzer and Jack just kept arguing with each other, and Les kept asking questions.

"So, do we gotta deal?" Jack spat into his hand. Stars smirked when she saw how grossed out Pulitzer was.

"That's disgusting."

"That's just the price of doing business," Jack, Les, and Stars all said simultaneously.

"So, are we going to tell the others or what?" Jack asked, smirking. Pulitzer begrudgingly nodded and opened the door. "Les, ya coming?"

Les popped up from under the desk before Stars could stop him. "Ya knew we were here?"

"Course. Ya talk too much." Jack ruffled Les's hair.

"Stars? Are you dead?" Stars rolled her eyes and stood up.

"No, stupid, I'm just better at hiding." Jack shrugged, agreeing with her.

"She ain't wrong. Now c'mon. Davey's gonna kill ya."

Les and Stars disappeared into the crowd as Jack went up to meet Pulitzer. Romeo and Race were hanging in the heart of the people, talking to each other intently.

"Where were you? We couldn't find you anywhere?" Race asked, looking worried. Stars smiled.

"Keep your hair on, I'm fine," She replied. "I was with Jack, inside."

"Newsies of New York!" Jack yelled above the chatter of kids, silencing them. "We won!"

The cheering was deafening. Stars was jumping up and down, squealing happily. Race and Romeo were hugging, pulling her into their little group. The people around Jack were speaking, but Stars couldn't hear, until a piercing whistle caught her attention. Race broke away from the hug, seeing where the sound came from.

"Hey, Jack! It's Crutchie!" Crutchie was hobbling towards Jack, a large group of children behind him. Stars saw a boy, around seven or eight years old running through the crowd, to the Delancey brothers. She had never seen the brothers look so happy in her life, but there they were, hugging this little boy so tightly that she was afraid they would constrict the child.

"Did I hear something about a strike being over?" Pulitzer said.

"Newsies, line up!" Weasel ordered. Stars pulled Race and Romeo aside.

"C'mon, we got somewhere to be." Romeo looked confused.

"Where we going?" He asked. Stars pulled out her journal from under her vest.

"I read your journal entry. We're going home."

"And why do I have to come?" Race wondered. Stars grinned.

"Cuz if I want to officially be your goil," She winked at the word. "Ya better get permission from my parents."

The three ran out to Midtown. Stars stopped at the building, the one she hadn't wanted to see ever again only two weeks ago. She took Race and Romeo's hands, and they climbed up the steps. Stars

took a deep breath, and knocked the dark blue door.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so maybe I felt bad for ending the next chapter when I did and then saying I won't be updating for three weeks, so I posted another chapter. Happy? Anyways, that's the end of part one. But now you might be thinking, "Vi, how is this part one? Is there going to be a part two? How are you going to do that since the strike is over?" All good questions, but I will tell you, the strike may be over, but the story is far from done. Things are going to get A LOT more complicated. :)<strong>

**Also, TWENTY CHAPTERS?! You guys have no ideas what that means to me. I honestly didn't think I would be going past five, and I absolutely didn't think this story would be as popular as it is! So as a thank you, we shall be playing a little game. K Kelly (check out her stories, they're amazing) did this when she hit twenty chapters, and I thought it looked fun, so I'm trying it out.**

**Rules are simple. There are five different quotes. All you gotta do is tell me who said what. First handful of people to answer correctly will get a shoutout in the next chapter. Have fun!**

**1) C'mon _! Those boys are counting on you! Oh, you poor boys!**

**2) Are ya stupid or what? Your famous, and the world is yer erster!**

**3) Didja see the pape? We're front page news above the fold! Oh yes! ABOVE! THE! FOLD!**

**4) The end. You're friend. You're best friend. You're brother.**

**5) Me thinks the lady needs to handled by a real man!**

**And there you go! Thanks again, and I'll see y'all some time soon! Newsies forever, second to none!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi guys! Um... Happy New Year! Wow, I haven't updated this since July, and I am SO SO sorry about that. This chapter had just been kinda difficult to write, and I procrastinated for so long. But, in return, this chapter is pretty long, so I do hope this will make up for it... Please?**

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><p>Race waited for the door to open, if it would at all. He wasn't quite sure what to expect on the other side. He had heard two completely different things about the Karlin family. The father did cause Romeo to run away and tried to force Stars to marry for money, but the mother had helped Romeo when he was injured and seemed to be on Stars' side, for the most part.<p>

He held Stars' hand even tighter, feeling more nervous by the second. Romeo was sort of hiding behind him, Race realized that he was probably the most terrified about this confrontation out of them.

They had only been waiting there for thirty seconds at most, but it felt like hours. Race was tempted to just turn around and run in the opposite direction, as far from the dark blue door as possible. He was about to go back down the steps, and then-

And then the door opened.

Race was met by a woman in her early forties, her dark hair in a messy bun and bags under her eyes. He noticed Romeo look a step down the stairs like he was trying to keep the woman from noticing him.

"Lydia?" The woman stared at Stars, turning rather pale. Stars squeezed Race's one more time before letting go, taking off her cap.

"Hi, Mother."

Romeo stood behind them awkwardly, tapping his foot and waiting to see if someone was going to notice him, talk to him. He wanted someone to, and yet, he felt to scared to go up to his parents himself. He hadn't seen them, _really seen them_, since he was nine. To them, he was just "Tony Higgins," the impersonator of his brother.

"Lydia," His mother kept whispering into Stars' short hair. Romeo stared at Race nervously.

"Just talk to her," He murmured. Romeo swallowed a gulp of air. He stepped forward, tapping Stars on her shoulder.

"Mama?" Romeo's voice was barely above a whisper. Stars shook herself out of her mother's grasp, stepping back to the side of Race. His mother stared at him with wide eyes, looking as though she couldn't comprehend that Romeo was in front of her. He stared back, the same wide eyed expression on his face. Race and Stars clasped their hands together, standing off to the side of the porch. There was a stunned silence, before-

"Matthew," Mrs. Karlin breathed. The tears that she had been trying to hold back poured down her face like a waterfall.

"Mama," Romeo wrapped his arms around his mother, the first time he had in years. Mrs. Karlin held him tightly, stroking his tangled black hair. "Mama, I'm sorry."

"My baby," Mrs. Karlin and Romeo fell to their knees, still holding onto each other. "My son. My beautiful, Matthew."

"It's Romeo now, Mama," Romeo smiled softly. His mother released him slowly, wiping his tears away with her small warm hands.

"You did always like that play," Mrs. Karlin laughed.

"Ya' used to read it to me." Romeo remembered vividly.

Stars and Race looked to each other. Stars was smiling. Race could see the happy tears in her eyes. He bit the inside of cheek, confused.

"Why are you crying?" He whispered.

"Cuz I haven't seen my family like this in four years." She replied, wiping her tears quickly with her shirt sleeve.

"Anna? Who was at the door?" A new voice asked from inside. Romeo stood up quickly, Mrs. Karlin following suit. Stars took off her hat smoothing out her rat's nest of hair.

"Who is it?" Race whispered, wonderingly.

"Take your hat off, you're gonna wanna make a good impression." She said.

A man with salt and pepper hair appeared at the doorway. Race immediately straightened his back, snatching his cap off of his head. Stars was right. He was going to want to make a good impression on this man. That is, if he wanted to keep dating his daughter.

"Peter," Mrs. Karlin dusted off her skirt, gripping Romeo's hand.

"L-Lydia," Mr. Karlin stammered, staring past Romeo, and barely noticing Race was there.

"Father," Stars nodded curtly.

"It's, uh, it's good to see you again," He said. "We missed… I missed you."

"Likewise," She didn't move from Race's side.

Mr. Karlin noticed Romeo. He smiled at him. "Hello, Mr. Higgins."

"Um, hi?" Race piped up from where he was. It was the first time either of the adults noticed he was even there. Mr. Karlin looked between Romeo and Race, obviously confused.

"Hello, Papa." Romeo said clearly, sticking his hand out. His father stared at Romeo's outstretched hand as if it was going to fall off and crawl into the house.

"Ma-" Romeo smiled sheepishly. "Matthew…"

He didn't shake Romeo's hand. Stars watched as her proud father broke down and held her little brother so tightly that she was waiting for his head to pop off.

"Please, come inside," Mrs. Karlin said, ushering them inside, eyeing Race warily.

"Thank you, ma'am," He said, trying to make his rough accent sound a bit more refined.

The living room was enormous, although the three were comparing that to the familiar rooms in the lodging house, which even the largest one was cramped and way too small for the amount of boys, and two girls, that lived there.

Race, Romeo, and Stars settled themselves on the velvet covered sofa; Mr. and Mrs. Karlin taking the two seats across from them.

"I'm sorry, before we do anything, who might you be?" Mrs. Karlin asked, her deep brown eyes analyzing Race.

"I'm Antonio, ma'am." Race said nervously. "Antonio Higgins. My friends call me Tony." _And Race. _He wanted to add, but felt that he shouldn't bring up his other name.

"I see," Mrs. Karlin regarded him warmly. "And I see where Matthew got the name from."

"And what do you do for a living, Tony?" It was Mr. Karlin's turn to question him.

"I'm… I'm a newsie, sir. In lower Manhattan."

"Is that where you've been, Matthew? All this time, and that's where you've been?" Mrs. Karlin asked. Romeo stared at the carpeted floor, shrugging.

"How long have you been a 'newsie', Tony?"

Race bit his cheek again. "Since I was around seven, sir."

"Seven?" Mrs. Karlin said incredulously. "Where were your parents during all of this?"

"They died, ma'am," Race whispered. "Nine years ago."

"I-I'm sorry," Mrs. Karlin said. Stars squeezed Race's hand comfortingly.

"Lydia," Mr. Karlin said sharply. Stars drew her hand away, looking up at her father. "And is this, where you… disappeared to?" Stars noticed how carefully her father chose his words.

"Yes," She said simply. Race noticed that she didn't add the part where they had met up and he had convinced her to join. He wanted to silently thank her for that. Looking back, it might have just been smarter to have taken Stars back to her home. "I've been with Race and Romeo for the past two weeks." _Except for that time I got arrested, _She thought.

"Race?" Mrs. Karlin raised an eyebrow.

"It's my uh… nickname, ma'am. Very few of us at the lodging house still go by our birth names."

"Alright," Mr. Karlin seemed to be making a mental list of things to ask him, like they were just interrogating him. "_Race_, what exactly is your affiliation with my... son?"

Race looked to Romeo, who smirked, nodding for him to continue. "He's my best friend, sir. My brother, more like."

"And my daughter?"

That answer was a little bit harder. "She's uh-"

"We're old friends," Stars jumped in quickly. "Sorry, Mother, but we met about two years ago. I helped him out with something, and in return," She winked at him. "He helped me."

"Lydia, why didn't you tell us about this?" Mrs. Karlin wondered. Stars shrugged.

"It didn't really cross my mind, Mother."

"One more thing," Mr. Karlin looked interested. "You said your last name was 'Higgins', correct? Are you related to Jason Higgins? The jockey?"

Race nodded slowly. "He was born Giuseppe Hiligatzzi, but yeah, sir. He was my father."

"Great jockey. Too bad about what happened to him-"

"Peter, please," Mrs. Karlin noticed the glint in Race's blue eyes dull out. "I would like to speak to, Tony, alone."

"Of course," Mr. Karlin said quickly. "There's a few things the children and I need to catch up on."

"Actually, Father," Stars said, standing up. "I need to pack some stuff up before we go back to the lodging house." Everyone froze, staring at Stars. "What?"

"You're gonna go back?" Mrs. Karlin choked out. Stars met eyes with Romeo, and mentally, they came up with the same answer.

"Course I'm gonna go back, Mother."

"We both will be, Mama," Romeo said. Both of the Karlins looked hurt. "We's made a pretty good livin' back in Manhattan."

"Selling newspapers?" Mr. Karlin laughed. "I doubt that." Race felt uncomfortable.

"You'd be surprised the amount of money ya' get if ya' really try," He muttered.

"But what about home? This is your home, both of yours," Mrs. Karlin tried to reason.

"I'm sorry, Mother, but the lodging house is our home. I love you, both of you, but bein' a newsie is like bein' the friggin' king of New York. And I ain't gonna change my mind on that, ya' can be damn sure about that."

"Lydia-"

"I'm sorry, Mother," Stars said. "But they're my brothers. And-" Her deep brown eyes met Race's bright blue ones. "And I love them." Stars started up the staircase, but stopped halfway up. "Oh, and I go by Stars now. Very few of us at the lodging house still go by our birth names."

Race watched her go. He was about to go after her, but felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Excuse me," Mrs. Karlin said, gesturing towards the study a few doors down. "Would you please come with me?"

Race cleared his throat, standing up. "Of course, ma'am." He looked back at Romeo. "I'll see ya' in a few minutes." He whispered. _I hope._

* * *

><p>Romeo shifted uncomfortably in his seat, suddenly wishing he had gone upstairs with Stars. His father had stood up, and was circling the room. Romeo didn't feel like he could move. He felt himself shaking. He hadn't been alone with his father in four years. He had taken four years for him to barely repress the memories, <em>the nightmares<em>, and here was his worst one, standing right in front of him.

"So, I've heard you go by Romeo now," Mr. Karlin said. Romeo managed a weak smile.

"Yeah, that's what the boys call me," He replied, shrugging. Mr. Karlin chuckled.

"And you couldn't have gotten a better nickname than the little lover boy who kills himself?" Romeo bit his lip nervously. This wasn't going to end well.

"Well… I like my name…" He protested meekly. "It's my favorite play." Romeo didn't like the way Mr. Karlin was laughing. He didn't think this was funny.

"Of course you'd like it. You always liked that kind of thing."

"Well, yeah, I-I guess," Romeo rubbed the back of his neck. "Shakespeare was fun to read."

"You really haven't changed, have you?" He looked up at his father, confused.

"Whaddaya' mean?" He asked.

"You're still that small, scrawny little boy that ran away from home because he couldn't take a punch. The little boy who needed to hide behind _girl_ because he wasn't able to take care of himself. The little boy who _wasn't brave enough _protect himself." Romeo gripped the edge of the sofa tightly. Mr. Karlin knelt down so they were eye level.

"Stars, Lydia, she told me you had changed. That you had been trying to be a better person for our family."

"That's correct, boy," Mr. Karlin grabbed Romeo by the collar, standing him up straight. "But you're not my family."

Romeo struggled against Mr. Karlin, pushing against his strong hands. "Let go of me," He hissed. Mr. Karlin shoved him away. Romeo stumbled against a side table, falling onto the floor.

"Go," Romeo breathed in heavily, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He wanted to get back up and push his father right back, but he couldn't. He couldn't stand back up. "Go back to your _family_. Because, you sure as hell haven't gotten one here."

Romeo got to his feet, his entire body feeling like lead. "I hate you." He spat out. Mr. Karlin's hand shot out, catching the side of Romeo's cheek with his fist. Romeo hit the floor again.

"Get out." His father stepped over him, going up the staircase. Romeo sighed, not moving.

* * *

><p>"Mrs. Karlin, ma'am, I need to apologize." Race was pacing back and forth, trying to sprew out as much as he could get out in a single breath. "I know that I should have taken Stars, er Lydia, straight home after she came to me. I should not have gotten her involved in our jobs, especially not <em>now<em>, and when I found out that Romeo, er, Matthew was her little brother, I should have made sure that they both went straight back home and-"

"Do you love my daughter?" Mrs. Karlin asked, cutting him off. Race froze, staring at the woman.

"I… uh…" He gulped quickly, not knowing what to say.

"My father married me off to a man over five years my senior because he was willing to give the most amount of money for my hand. I wasn't strong enough to tell my family that I loved someone else, a young man who worked at the dock, who was trying to save enough money for us to elope together. I was a married woman long before that was able to happen. I do not want that for my daughter. So I will ask you again," Mrs. Karlin's deep brown eyes poured into Race. "Do you love my daughter?"

Race met the woman's eyes, nodding. "Yes ma'am. I love your daughter. More than anything, more than _anyone_. I love her."

"That's all I needed to know," Mrs. Karlin smiled at him. "You seem like a great boy, Race. My daughter deserves a great boy."

"Ma'am, your daughter doesn't deserve me," Race tapped his foot against the floor. "Lydia deserves someone who will be able to take care of her, to provide for her when life happens. I barely make enough to buy myself dinner, there's no way I could protect her."

"Tell me, Race. In all the time you have known my daughter, have you ever felt that she needed to be protected?"

Despite the situation, Race's signature smirk returned. "That's a very fair point, ma'am."

"I don't want my daughter to live with someone she doesn't love in order to please her father. If Lydia really loves you, and you love her, then we will get along just fine." Mrs. Karlin stuck out her hand. "Usually the father is supposed to give the permission but…"

Race's smirk turned to a genuine grin. "Ya' mean…"

"Just make sure she doesn't do anything too rash," Mrs. Karlin advised. Race took the woman's hand, and shook it.

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><p>Stars gathered as many extra pairs of clothes she could, and shoved it into her messenger bag. Her room was exactly the way she had left it; it seemed like no one had come into there since she had left. Stars was okay with that. She didn't like people sifting through her things.<p>

She got down on her knees, fishing out a small wooden box from under her bed. She opened it, taking out a crumpled piece of paper, with messy handwriting scribbled across it.

**Being Rescued and Playing the Game**

**By: A One Tony Higgins**

**She rescued me once**

**And I thought I'd never see her again**

**She rescued me twice**

**And I thought the same**

**But when she rescued me a third time**

**Then a fourth and then a fifth**

**That is when I started**

**To understand this game**

**This was a game I had never played before**

**One I could didn't understand**

**It was a giant gamble**

**But not one I was sure to win**

**Because this one stole my love**

**Before I could play my cards**

**So it's my turn to be the rescuer**

**And my turn to win the game**

**With my love of the dark hard beauty**

**My life will never be the same**

Stars laughed at the silly poem Race had given her a year into their secret endeavor. She folded it up, sticking it into her pocket.

There was a unfamiliar sounding click behind her. Stars turned around. She flinched, staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Hello, Miss Lydia," The voice sounded familiar, but she didn't look up fast enough to match a face. She felt a hard hit against the side of her head, then the cold wooden floor.

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><p><strong>And there you have it. What a great (or something like that) way to start the next part of I Got Midtown. And before this story gets any further, I really gotta thank my BFF, Miss CassieKeys for helping me come up with this next plot. She is amazing, and you all should go check out some of her stuff. Anyways, please review! Until next time!<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Well, considering the last time between my last two updates, this is a considerable improvement. The bad side of that, I am going to add even more cliffhangers to these chapters. So... sorry(?)**

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><p>When Race saw Romeo on the floor, his blood boiled. He ran to his brother, pulling out a soiled handkerchief from his pocket and pressing it to the small cut on Romeo's cheek, tiny beads of blood staining the off white cloth.<p>

"What happened?" Mrs. Karlin fell to Romeo's side, trying to hold his shoulder. Romeo recoiled, crawling away from his mother. "Matthew?"

"That's not my name," Romeo muttered. "It hasn't been for a long time."

"Romeo?" Race asked, helping Romeo to his feet. "What'd _he_ do?"

"Nothin' that wasn't outta the ordinary," Romeo snatched his hat from the side table. "Can we just get Stars and go?"

"In a minute," Race sat Romeo back down on the sofa, nodding to Mrs. Karlin to move away. The woman couldn't take her eyes off of Romeo as she backed into the kitchen. "I'll be right back."

Romeo nodded, lying back on the sofa. Mrs. Karlin pulled Race back in the kitchen. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, and he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know.

"He swore that he changed, Race. You know that?" Mrs. Karlin said. Race wasn't sure how to reply. "He promised me. He promised _her _that he wasn't like that anymore."

"Ma'am," Race found his voice was slow and cautious, he didn't know if this was a smart answer or not. "He may have promised that he would be better to you and Stars. But he didn't promise that to Romeo."

Mrs. Karlin looked up at him. Race saw the motherly expression that every child knew all too well. It had been years since he had seen that expression. He didn't realize just how much he had missed it.

"You're his best friend, correct?" Mrs. Karlin asked.

Race nodded, straightening his back. "We're are more like brothers now, ma'am."

"Good," Mrs. Karlin "And you've been protecting him? For the past four years, you've been protecting him?"

"I was the first one to find him, ma'am," Race leaned against the counter. "I know everything about him."

"No, " Mrs. Karlin whispered. "Not everything." She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, scribbling furiously. Race watched her curiously.

"Whaddaya' mean?" He asked, losing his refined grammar that he had been trying to use.

Mrs. Karlin folded the piece of paper tightly, pressing it into Race's hand. "I need you to keep protecting them. _Both of them_. Can you do that?" Race starting unfolded the paper; Mrs. Karlin stopped him. "No. Don't read it yet. Not until you know you're alone."

"What is it?"

"Something that I've been protecting them from for years." Race stared at the woman as if she had grown a third arm.

"Ma'am," He tried, "Why ya' trustin' me with this? I met you half an hour ago."

"Because you seem to have learned more about my children in four years then I have all their lives. And for their sake, you need to keep that paper from them."

"But wouldn't it just be easier to tell me what is so important?"

Mrs. Karlin shook her head, lowering her voice. "If anyone, _anyone_, knows about this, it will put you, Matthew and Lydia in danger. Now promise me, once you read that, you will rip it up into as many pieces as you can, and burn it. _No one can ever know what that says_."

"Alright, I promise," Race shoved the paper in his pocket, "But, ma'am, whatever this is, who else knows about it?"

"Well, me. Now you. And-" She lowered her voice. "And my husband."

That caught Race. "And does Mr. Karlin knowin' bout this hurt Romeo and Stars."

Mrs. Karlin nodded gravely again. "He was the one person who shouldn't have found out in the first place."

"Ma'am," Race hadn't noticed that hands had been balled into fists at his sides. "Was Romeo bein' hurt all these years because of what is on that paper?"

More tears fell from Mrs. Karlin's face. "I tried to stop it, I really did, but-"

_Bang!_

The sharp sound made Race jump out of his skin, but the high pitched scream that came after it, made his skin crawl.

"Stars!" Race yelled, running out of the kitchen. Romeo was already bounding up the staircase, Mrs. Karlin on both of their heels.

Romeo was already pounding against Stars' door when Race and Mrs. Karlin made it to the second floor. The door was locked from the inside.

"Stars, open the door!" Romeo kept hitting the door, though Race knew the effort was futile.

"Lydia!" Mrs. Karlin pulled at the door knob. "Lydia, are you there?"

There was no answer. "Mrs. Karlin, gimme a pin!" Mrs. Karlin looked at Race like he was crazy. "Hair pin, clothes pin, anything!"

"Here," Mrs. Karlin pulled a pin out of the dark hair that was pile above her head. Race set it into the keyhole, jiggling it around until he heard a small click. Race pushed the door open quickly.

The room was a mess. Pictures hung crookedly on the walls, the rug on the wooden floor was bunched up at weird angles. There was a small suitcase full of crumpled clothes, a small splatter of deep red blood on the floor. Mr. Karlin was sitting on the foot of the bed, clutching a small leather pouch, almost smirking to himself.

And no Stars.

"Stars?" Race whispered, searching around the room like she was just going to appear from the shadows.

"Peter, w-what did you do?" Mrs. Karlin stammered, walking towards her husband. He didn't answer her. "What did you do!" She screamed.

"What we were going to do in the first place."

Mr. Karlin shoved a crumpled piece of paper in their direction. Both Mrs. Karlin and Romeo back away from him disgustedly. Race stepped forward, snatching the paper from Mr. Karlin, almost ripping it in half.

"Anna-" Mr. Karlin started. Mrs. Karlin didn't let him finish, smacking him hard across the face.

"Race, take Romeo back home," She instructed coolly, not taking her dark eyes off of Mr. Karlin. Romeo looked terrified, but didn't move. Race grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him out of the room.

"Mama," Romeo whispered, reaching at hand out to his mother. Mrs. Karlin didn't turn around.

"Good bye, ma'am," Race said, shoving the crumpled paper into his pocket next to the one Mrs. Karlin had given him.

Race fought to be strong as he and Romeo left the Karlin house. "C'mon, kid, Jack is gonna be wonderin' where we went."

"What does it say?" Romeo asked. "The paper Pa… Mr. Karlin gave you."

Race gave Romeo a one armed hug, pulling out the paper with the other, and trying not to take out the paper Mrs. Karlin had given him. He unfolded it quickly. The ink was smudged from the paper being so crinkled, but they were able to make something out in the somewhat dimming light.

_Mr. Karlin,_

_Thank you for upholding your end of the bargain. I will try to uphold mine. Hopefully, you will see Miss Lydia and I together soon._

_-WP_

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><p><strong>And there we go! Don't worry, the next chapter is going to mostly Stars, so that should make up for it. And, there is going to be a lot more twists and cliffhangers. Some things will just never stop. Oh, and does anyone have any ideas as to what is on the paper Mrs. Karlin gave to Race? Comment what you think it is. See y'all soon!<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello all! Welcome to chapter twenty three! I almost felt hurt writing this myself. Stars means a lot to me, and I really don't why I continue to do these things to her and the rest of the newsies. Eh, it's more interesting that way...**

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><p><em>Pain. <em>That's all she felt. Red hot pain shooting up her right arm, making her want to scream over and over, but even moving an inch made everything hurt more. She didn't want to open her eyes, didn't want to get shocked back into reality. Wherever she was, it was very cold. A stark contrast to the hot and stuffy summer weather. The temperature bit at her skin, fighting violently against the burning heat inside her body.

Almost against her will, Stars' eyes fluttered open. A girl about her age was standing over her, gray eyes laced with worry, sweat soaked caramel hair sticking to her forehead. Stars shot up quickly, too quickly. She cried out, grabbing her right shoulder. It was wet; Stars had a feeling she knew why.

"Careful!" _So the girl could speak._ She ran to Stars' side, helping her down to her back. Stars groaned, tears in her eyes. The girl grabbed a small, lumpy pillow. She lifted Stars' head gently, setting it underneath her. Stars let her head fall back stiffly. "I'm going to have to look at that." The girl nodded at Stars' shoulder. She looked at it from the corner of her eye. Sticky red liquid stained the sleeve of her blue plaid shirt. Her grimaced when she saw her left hand was the same color.

The girl ripped the hem of her skirt, making it into a makeshift bandage. "Would you mind, uh-"

"Oh, uh, yeah." Stars slipped out of her vest. The girl held Stars' right arm as she unbuttoned her shirt, thankful for the gray undershirt she had decided to take from Jojo that morning. The bloody gash in her arm made Stars' stomach turn. _Oh for God's sake, Lydia, don't throw up. _

"It doesn't look infected, so that's good. But you won't be using your right arm for a little bit."

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm left handed," Stars smiled weakly. The girl raised an eyebrow, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket.

"I'm sorry," She said, pressing the handkerchief against Stars' shoulder. Stars screamed at the sudden contact. "Hold that, please."

Stars winced, holding the handkerchief against her burning shoulder. The girl worked quickly, wrapping the ripped hem of her skirt around her arm, tying it off in a tight knot.

"Thanks," Stars sighed.

"You're lucky," The girl scooted next to her, wrapping a thin blanket around Stars' shoulders. "The bullet just grazed you. _He _must actually like you."

Stars gulped. "Whaddaya' talkin' about?"

"You need to rest," The girl said. "You'll find out soon enough."

Stars rolled her eyes, staring at the cracked walls. The girl grabbed the candle that was next to her, walking across the room. Stars didn't realize just how big the room she was in was.

"Wait!" She struggled back up to a sitting position. "What is this place? And who are you?"

The girl turned around. The pale light of the candle gave her steel gray eyes an eerie glow. "Where are we? That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" She sat down on the opposite side of the room, a pile of dirty blankets on the floor below her. Stars could just make out a faded newspaper article that was tacked on the wall behind the girl.

"Oh," Stars said quietly.

The girl blew out the candle, leaving them both in darkness. Stars wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders, lying back against the lumpy pillow.

"And my name is Elizabeth Wallace," Her voice cut through the dark suddenly, almost making Stars jump back up. "You can call me Eliza."

"I'm Stars. Or Lydia, depending on who ya' ask," Stars said, closing her eyes.

"Yeah, I know." Eliza's voice softened a bit. "Good night, Stars. And good luck."

* * *

><p>When Stars woke up, the large room was empty; Eliza wasn't there. Stars stood up slowly, fully taking in her surroundings. There were two piles of blankets; the one she was on, and the pile Eliza had slept in. A small barred window was built at the opposite end of the room, letting in enough light for her to look around. One wall was covered in- <em>newspaper?<em> Stars thought, _Is that newspaper? _She moved closer to see it. The wall had dozens of articles hung on it, with one thing in common about all of them. The authors name: K. Plumber.

Stars plucked off the cleanest of the newspapers. She knew exactly what it was. The familiar headline screamed at her: _NEWSIES STOP THE WORLD_. She had never really read the article until then, laughing when she noticed that Katherine had written all of Jack's quotes in the same improper way he talked.

But then she looked up and stared at the picture. Three red inked circles were on the black and white page, ruining the almost perfect looking article. Stars' felt her nerves fall to the pit of her stomach when she saw who was circled.

Race. Romeo.

_And her. _

She gulped down her fear to the best of her ability, only to hear a loud smack and short scream directly above her. Stars ran to the barred door at the top of a stairway few yards ahead of her, trying in vain to open it, ignoring the pain splitting her arm.

"C'mon!" She screamed in frustration. "Open up dammit!"

"Watch your language, little lady," The vaguely familiar voice was back. The door swung open, scraping against the floor. Stars jumped back quickly.

Eliza was pushed into the room, tripping over her long red skirt and falling to her knees. Stars knelt down to help her up. The girl's face was streaked with tears, a large red mark across her cheek and a bruise forming above her left eye.

"What happened?" Stars asked, struggling to get Eliza back up to her feet. Eliza shook her off, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Your turn," She muttered. Stars watched her go down the stairs back to her pile of blankets. She was about to follow, but someone grabbed her uninjured arm tightly. _Great, now both my arms hurt._

"So great to see you again, Miss Lydia," Stars turned her head back to reply with some snarky comment, but instead sucked in her breath.

"I wish I could say the same thing, Mr. Patterson."

* * *

><p>William Patterson was the last person Stars wanted to see in a long time. She knew it had only been about two weeks since they had met, but it seemed like centuries ago. So many things had happened in that short amount of time that her entire life before the strike was like a distant memory. <em>Oh yeah, <em>She reminded herself. _He's the one Father sold me off to; the one who ruined my life. Ain't this fun? _

Stars was sitting in a white velvet chair in a sunlit room. William sat down in front of her, studying her as if she were some new species he had never seen before. Stars wanted to pull away from him, but the sharp twang in that suddenly burst in her ankle pulled her back down into the seat. How he had gotten handcuffs, Stars didn't know.

He looked very different than the last time she had seen him. His mousy brown hair had grown out more so theirs was almost the same length. His eyes had a strange light in them that made Stars uncomfortable. There was a long, jagged scar that ran diagonally across his face, ruining an image that even Stars had to admit had been handsome at a time, but now just made her annoyed.

"You cut your hair," William observed. Stars rolled her eyes in disgust. "Too bad, really. I think I prefered it long."

"Well then I'm glad I got rid of it," She retorted.

William smirked, clearly amused by her quick tongue. "You've changed greatly, Miss Lydia-"

"That's not my name," She cut him off before she could stop herself.

"Ah yes, _Stars_," William laughed silkily. It made Stars' skin crawl. "The little nickname your brother gave you. Honestly, you could have thought of something better than that. But I guess that's what happens when you depend on _that one_-"

"Leave him outta this," Stars spat out. "Whaddaya' want with me?"

"Oh, I thought that was obvious, Miss Lydia." William cupped Stars' cheek in her palm. She recoiled. "I want to marry you."

"You're insane," She pushed him away forcefully. William chuckled, eye her. Stars gulped nervously.

The first blow was to her neck. Stars' head jerked to the side. She gasped, feeling the mark burn along with the rest of her aching body.

"You're a beautiful girl, Miss Lydia," William unlocked the handcuff around her ankle. She wanted to get up and run out, but was frozen. "I hope I don't have to ruin that pretty face of yours."

"Go to hell," He grabbed her by her injured arm, pressing into the wound in her shoulder. Stars screamed loudly, seeing spots.

"You'll get there first," He promised her, unlocked the door to a dark stairway, and throwing her down it.

She stopped herself halfway down the cold staircase, sobs racking her body.

* * *

><p><strong>There we go! I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP, and there will be an awful lot of worried Race and Romeo in it. Oh, and if you want to see some more Stars, go read Key Snatcher by my best friend and beta, CassieKeys. It takes place a year after this one, and it's amazing! Anyway, please review and I hope to see y'all in the next update!<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello my lovelies. Happy Valentines Day! Sadly, no Stars in this chapter, but a lot of Race and Romeo and some Crutchie action. I gotta say, I might not be able to update as fast as I have been lately, but I will try. I was just cast as Belle in Beauty and the Beast and I'm in tech week as Ophelia in my school's production of This is Hamlet (which I won't be sad about when it's over.) But anyways... **

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><p>Race stared at the cracks in the ceiling from his top bunk. His breathing was ragged, his usually bright eyes were a dull blue-gray, and as much as he would like to deny it, he had been crying. <em>Lydia<em>, he thought, not even bothering to use her nickname. _Where are you?_

The paper Mrs. Karlin had given him was shoved deep under his pillow. He hadn't read it yet, he hadn't been alone for what seemed like forever, and Mrs. Karlin had made him promise not to open it until he knew that no one was around. Race may be a smart mouthed gambler, but he was a boy of his word.

"Race?" Jojo asked, knocking Race's foot repeatedly. "Jack wants to talk to ya'."

"What about?" Race sighed, hopping down from his bunk.

Jojo shrugged nervously, "He didn't say. But pretty much everyone else is already downstairs. We's just waitin' on ya'."

When Race came down, the entire bottom floor fell silent. Everyone was staring at him. He noticed that Crutchie wasn't in the large group, though that wasn't particularly surprising. Jack had given the crippled boy at least three days of bed rest, he was either somewhere else in the lodging house, or up in the penthouse, the only two places Crutchie was permitted to go until he got better. Romeo wasn't there.

"Alright," Jack said suddenly, pulling the eyes off of Race and back onto him. "So we won the strike! We's are all gonna go back to work tomorrow. But before that, Race," He looked at Race expectedly. "Is there something that ya' wanna tell the rest of them?"

_No, just lemme deal with this by myself. _Race wanted to say. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, um…"

"Stars is missin'," Romeo cut in, his voice clear; if he had been crying the way Race had been earlier, it wasn't showing on his face. "She disappeared yesterday, right after the strike ended. Just… look out for her when we go sellin' tomorrow, okay?"

Race expected to bombarded by with questions, but the newsies just nodded silently.

"Okay," Jack continued. "Anyone else got somethin' to add?" The others shook their head silently. "Right then, get ready for sleep. We all got a busy day tomorrow."

Race tried to get to Romeo through the crowd of newsies trying to get upstairs, but Romeo had slinked out from the back.

"Romeo!" He called, getting called caught in the rush. "Romeo!"

There was no answer.

* * *

><p>Crutchie wasn't in the bed Jack had told him to stay in, which meant he had gone back up to the roof. Romeo climbed up unsurely, banging against the ladder to get Crutchie's attention.<p>

"Do ya' mind if I join ya'?" Romeo asked. Crutchie smiled, patting the spot to the left of where he was sitting. Romeo sat down tentatively.

"The air's calmin', ain't it?" Crutchie commented.

"Jack said you'se is supposed to stay inside," Romeo reminded him.

Crutchie made a face. "I've been 'inside' for too long," He said. "Besides, it's too nice to stay inside for another three days."

Romeo couldn't contain himself any longer. He threw his arms around the blonde boy, trying not to hug him so tight as to hurt him even further. "I missed ya'."

"I missed ya' too, kid."

"I'm sorry," Romeo whispered.

"Whaddaya' sorry for?" Crutchie looked confused. "Ya' ain't the one who arrested me or anythin'."

"But I was there." Romeo protested. "I heard ya' scream for help, and I didn't help ya'. _Ya' said my own name, and I didn't help ya'. _ I was right next to ya' and I ran away. If I had stayed to help ya', or Stars, they neither of ya' wouldn't have been taken away. It's my fault that ya' got arrested."

"Romeo, listen to me," Crutchie said seriously. "If ya' had gone after me, you would have gotten taken right along with me. That wouldn't have made anythin' better."

"But Stars-"

"If Stars was here, she woulda' told ya' the exact same thing. She's your sister. She can't be mad at ya' for being safe. No one here is aloud to."

Romeo furrowed his brow. "Crutchie?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Did ya' know Chris very well?"

Romeo noticed that Crutchie had tensed up a bit, although he was trying not to show it. "Why do ya' ask?"

"Because I didn't know her very much, but I was shocked over her… ya' know… But ya' looked straight up heartbroken when I told ya'. Why? Didja' know her well?"

"We was friends. Old friends, that's all."

Romeo was worried that he had taken a step too far. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright kid, but uh… I'm kinda tired. Do ya' mind?"

"Yeah sure," Romeo said quickly, climbing back down the ladder. "Feel better."

"Oh… thanks, Romeo."

* * *

><p>It was dark and late, but Race couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, hoping he wasn't going to wake Romeo from underneath him. He sighed giving up, sitting up, and sliding off of his bed, hitting the ground a bit too hard.<p>

"Race, go back to sleep," Romeo groaned. Race shushed him.

"Sorry," He whispered, grabbing the candle off the bedside table and Mrs. Karlin's piece of paper from under his pillow. "Just goin' to the bathroom."

He slipped into the bathroom quickly, lighting the candle. He took the piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolding it slowly.

The light was dim, but he could see Mrs. Karlin's handwriting clearly. He read the paper slowly and carefully, each word was practically stabbing him. Race could barely comprehend what half of it really meant, even though all the words were a part of his vocabulary. All of a sudden, everything about the Karlin family made sense to him. It broke it his heart.

"Oh my god," He whispered. "Romeo…" He ripped up the paper into dozens of tiny pieces, dropping it into the toilet and flushing it away quickly. "I'm so sorry, Romeo. I'm so sorry."

* * *

><p><strong>Ooh... and now Race knows the biggest of all secrets in the Karlin family. We'll just have to see how this plays out. So, gimme reviews and I'll update sooner! Till then my dears!<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	25. Chapter 25

**So, I had the day off because of a snow day, so I just wanted to post something before I run out of time. I hope this is good way to stop before I have a super busy week. We'll see!**

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><p>The circulation line felt longer to Race than usual. He stood silently, tuning out the other boys that were trying to get through to him, though he just kept pushing them away.<p>

"Hey, Race," Les said, "Wanna come sellin' with me today?"

"Sorry, kid," He replied, not even looking at the little boy. "I'm gonna go alone today."

"Okay…" Les looked up at Davey, and Race almost regretted being so guarded with him.

"Remember, look out for Stars while you'se is workin'!" Jack called from the front of the line. Race sighed, rocking back and forth on his heels.

"I miss her too, ya' know," Romeo whispered in Race's ear. "She's _my_ sister."

Race shrugged, "I'm well aware of that," He snapped, stepping up and slamming down a quarter.

"Where's you're goil?" Oscar asked. Race couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"I dunno, maybe ya' can tell me," He replied, snatching the newspapers from Morris' hands.

"Whoa, calm down." Morris said. "We don't know anything about it."

"Well, try to figure somethin' out," Race shot, shoving the newspapers in his bag.

"I actually like her, you know?" Oscar called after him. Race rolled his eyes, running out of the circulation center.

He knew that having a bad day meant nothing to his customers at the Sheepshead, but he also knew how to cover how upset he was with fake headlines and bright blue eyes. By the time the sun was in the sky, his newspapers were disappearing a pretty fast rate. People needed to hear the news after being cut off for the past two weeks.

"Extra! Extra! _Loving Warden Wrongfully Convicted_!" It pained him to hear that headline in that day's newspaper. It was so insane; no embellishing needed.

"That is a load of bullshit," A voice behind him said sternly.

Race turned around quickly. "Mrs. Karlin," He quickly put his newspaper back into his bag.

"Here," Mrs. Karlin dug a nickel out of her purse, handing it to Race. He stared at the coin dumbfoundedly. "Well, aren't I gonna get what I paid for?"

"Oh sorry," He said, giving her the newspaper. "Whaddaya' doin' here?"

"We needed to talk. Will you come with me?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm two weeks behind on sellin', and I'm already runnin' outta money."

"How many do you have left?"

"Um," He counted them quickly. "Twenty-one. Why?"

Mrs. Karlin gave him two more dimes and a penny. "And now you're all paid off."

Race's eyes widened. "Mrs. Karlin, I can't, really."

"Please, Race," Mrs. Karlin shoved the money into his hand. "We have an awful lot to discuss."

Mrs. Karlin took him to a nearby deli, ordering two sandwiches for her and Race. He sat down in the bouncy booth seat uncomfortably, Mrs. Karlin watching him seriously.

"Does Mr. Karlin even know that you're talkin' to me?" Race asked.

Mrs. Karlin shook her head. "He thinks I'm out with a friend. We do not have a lot of time. Did you-" She looked around nervously. "Did you read the paper?"

Race nodded, "Do they know? Stars and Romeo?"

"No, they don't. And you can't tell them."

"Why did you tell me? Why can't you tell them?"

"Because I want you to know that I didn't want to just stand by and watch Matthew get hurt. I had no choice."

"At least Stars deserves to know. They both deserve to know why _he _only hurt Romeo."

"Yes, I know but-"

"He thought he deserved it, didja' know that?" Race asked suddenly. "When he first joined us. It took us two years to convince him it wasn't his fault."

"And you and I both know it wasn't his fault. It was mine." Mrs. Karlin sighed, brushing a strand of dark hair out of her face. Race realized at the moment how much both Stars and Romeo looked like their mother.

And nothing like their father.

"Any news on Lydia?" Mrs. Karlin asked, changing the subject. Race shook his head.

"We have all the newsies lookin' for her."

"I could get the police involved-"

"No!" Race said quickly. "The police already know her. I'm not sure they are so keen on lookin' for her after she got arrested during the strike…"

"Lydia was arrested?" Mrs. Karlin looked shocked. Race rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wrongfully," He said. "Snyder wanted to round up as many kids from the strike as possible and stick 'em all the the Refuge. Stars was one of 'em. So was Crutchie, and Romeo, almost."

"They put that little crippled boy in conditions like that? He didn't deserve that."

"To most people, it doesn't matter. They just wanted their money's worth." Race shrugged sadly.

They ate their food slowly and silently. "Thank you for lunch, ma'am, but I really do have to go."

Mrs. Karlin nodded, deep in thought, "Of course. I hope to see you again."

Race picked up his bag. "Good bye, ma'am."

"Stay safe, Race."

"You too."

* * *

><p><strong>Eliza helped Stars to a sitting position, giving her a gulp of watery soup. "I take back what I said about him liking you…"<strong>

"Thanks," Stars said sarcastically.

"Well, from the sound of things, you really got him angry. Haven't heard that much from a girl in…"

"What's your story?" Stars asked suddenly, shocking Eliza back into reality. "It seems like you already know everythin' bout me and our _dear friend_ Mr. Patterson."

Brushing her hair back into its tight bun, Eliza shrugged nervously, "Why does it matter?"

"Cuz I've heard nothin' but him tellin' me what a good bride I would have been."

"Well, alright. But, don't… don't tell me how stupid it is. I know already."

"I doubt anythin' is stupider than what I've done in the past two weeks," Stars smirked. Eliza rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Stars, you aren't the first one William has gone after," Eliza whispered. "You're not even the second. You're the _fourth_."

Stars gasped, running a hand through her tangled hair. "Whaddaya' mean, the fourth?"

"I mean, he does the same thing every time. We always run. He always finds us."

"The… The other girls, didja' know 'em? Didja' ever meet 'em."

Not meeting her eyes, Eliza spoke, "The first one, yes. She was a girl named Christina Rosie. Got locked up in the Refuge, William let her stay there, all cozied in a cell. I was the third. Never met the second girl. She was with him the shortest amount. I don't know what happened to her. Maybe she's dead, maybe not."

Stars hadn't heard Eliza finish the sentence. "Christina… Oh my god…"

Eliza heard her. "Did you know Christina?"

"Yeah," Stars nodded, crying. "I knew her. But… she said that she had killed someone. She had killed the person who was going to marry her."

Covering her mouth, Eliza looked horrified, "She killed someone?"

"Apparently not," Stars stared at the ground. "He's very much alive. And he's upstairs in the drawing room."

"William?" Eliza cried, before Stars clamped a hand over her mouth again.

"Shh! Wouldja' like to go out like her too?"

"Go out? What are you talking about?"

"Chris is dead!" Stars tried not to scream it out. "She was killed! On Snyder's orders…"

"Oh my god. Stars, I am so sorry."

"I met her back in the Refuge. But she said she had killed… Oh god, no…"

"What?"

"Chris said she had killed Snyder's son, that's why she was there for so long, but that means…"

"Who's Snyder?"

"Snyder was the warden of the Refuge." Stars looked up at Eliza, terrified. "And William's father."

* * *

><p><strong>Maybe that wasn't the best way to end the chapter. You can thank my beta, CassieKeys for telling me to end it there. Oops... Anyway, please review. Let me know if there is any one-shot ideas you'd like me to write, it'll convince me to go back and write something so I don't abandon FanFiction again... Till the next time!<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey there fansies of the world. I got a lot of requested to go deeper into Eliza's character. How she came to be, what her family was like, etc. So, I just descided to do a whole chapter in her POV. This is also the longest IGM chapter I've ever written, mostly because it contains her entiire backstory. And for those who don't know, the italics are her flashbacks. On with the story!**

* * *

><p>Eliza watched Stars fiddled with the star necklace she was wearing. The gold was a little tarnished, but beautiful all the same. The dimly lit room cast shadows over Stars's face, causing her appearance to be darker and it threw a blanket of silence that muffled even their quiet breaths. Eliza's hands shook slightly, barely daring to take a breath before a tumble of words issued from her mouth.<p>

"I-want-to-tell-you-my-story," She gasped, and waited for a response.

"Come again?" Came her answer.

"I said, I want to tell you my story. Before this hellhole, I lived in a really nice home in the Bronx."

Sitting up a little straighter, Stars tilted her head to the side, "The Bronx, eh?"

Eliza smiled sadly, "Yep. Real nice place, big blue doors, grey shutters… I guess I should start from the beginning though. This," She gestured around, "Wouldn't have happened if a boy named Asa hadn't come into my life."

"Tell me about him."

* * *

><p><em>Eight year old Eliza was perched on a wooden step stool, attempting to play the flute.<em>

_"Elizabeth, darling?" Her mother floated into the sitting room, "The new servant family is here. I would very much like for you to come and meet them."_

_"Yes, Mama," Eliza sighed, relieved to no longer have to torture her ears with the flute. She put it down, hopping down from the stool with a happy grin on her little face._

_When they reached the kitchen, after going down two flights of stairs, a small family stood in the middle, looking uncomfortable. The group consisted of a mother and father, a teenage girl, and a little boy her age._

_Pointing to their new staff, Mrs. Wallace spoke, "Now, that's Mrs. Fianns, our housekeeper, Mr. Nathan, our chef, Miss Keelan, the maid, and Mr. Asa, the errand boy. He will do personal task runs for you as well, Elizabeth."_

_"Hello," Eliza shyly waved to the family. Asa raised a hand, but was ushered to put it down by his mother._

_"Now, dear, go back to the flute. You need more practice if you're going to play for your husband." Mrs. Wallace motioned for her to leave._

_Making a groan of disgust, Eliza trudged back up the staircases, only to find herself with a strange shadow. Asa had followed her._

_"Hello, Asa," She whispered. Asa stared at her with wide eyes. She blinked quickly. "Um… do you not talk or something like that?"_

_Asa stepped toward her nervously before grinning widely, "You're pretty!"_

_Before Eliza could register what was happening, little Asa had kissed her on the cheek and ran back down the stairs before she could even stop to react._

_Seeing a dumbstruck Eliza standing all alone in the hall, Mrs. Wallace looked around curiously. "Where was Mr. Asa running off to in a hurry like that?"_

_"I dunno!" Eliza brightly replied. "And I don't think you have to call him 'Mr.', Mama. He's the same age as me."_

_"Don't know, dear," Her mother corrected fondly, "Remember, your grammar. And we must address him as Mr. Asa. It's just what is done. Now, the flute is waiting."_

_Mrs. Wallace handed her the flute. Eliza groaned, taking it, and going into her room._

* * *

><p><em>A few years had past; Eliza was now eleven and growing into a lovely young girl.<em>

_A knock came at her door, "Who is it?" She called haughtily,_

_"It's Mr. Asa, Miss Elizabeth," Was the reply. Eliza leaped off of her bed, opening the door._

_"Hello, Asa," Despite what her mother had told her, Eliza never felt comfortable calling the boy her age 'Mr.'. "How can I help you?"_

_"I have your learning materials, Miss," Asa grinned, winking at her. Eliza shut the bedroom door as fast as possible._

_Asa put a basket of handkerchiefs on Eliza's bed. She tore through it, pulling out two thick books. "Lizzie,"_

_"Thank you!" Eliza hugged Asa quickly, opening the first book._

_"Lizzie," Asa tried again. "Your father is starting to know that I've been sneaking in books for you to read. He doesn't seem bothered by it in the meantime, but you should be careful."_

_Eliza bounced up and down, "I know, but I don't care! Reading is so amazing. Come here," She beckoned him over, "This is a book on human anatomy. I can hardly put it down. Did you know that we have 208 bones in the human body? And babies have even more when they are born!"_

_Asa smiled quickly, picking up the basket. "You know that just looks like chicken scratch to me, right?"_

_"Yes, I know," Eliza sighed. "But you won't let me teach you!"_

_"I've still got my pride!" He protested._

_She grabbed his arm, "Well, not for long. Please, Asa, let me teach you?" Eliza's eyes went all sad and puppy-doggish, "For me?"_

_He gave her a long look, then sat down, "Fine. For you."_

_Eliza let out a quiet squee of delight, "Yes! Now, this is A." She took out a small chalkboard and drew a simple 'A' on the center._

* * *

><p><em>She was thirteen when he kissed her again. It was late at night and Eliza was reading A Tale of Two Cities by the light of her oil lamp. A light tap came at her door. Knowing who was behind it, she crept over, and in slid Asa.<em>

_"Hello, Miss," Asa rocked back and forth nervously._

_"Are you okay, Asa?" Eliza asked, pulling him into her room. She held up her light. A dark bruise was forming above his right eye. "Oh my god! What happened?"_

_"It's nothing, Miss Elizabeth," Asa was quiet._

_Eliza knew something was wrong. He didn't call her Miss Elizabeth when it was just the two of them._

_"That isn't, 'nothing,' Asa," She quietly exclaimed, sitting him down on the bed. "Who did that to you?"_

_He avoided her gaze uncomfortably, moving a little farther away from Eliza, "No one, Miss Elizabeth. I-I hit my head on a table."_

_Suspiciously holding a wet washcloth, Eliza stood in front of Asa, stopping him from scooting further away, "Asa, please talk to me. I can't let this just happen."_

_"There's nothing you can do, Miss," He protested, "So please, just stop."_

_She stomped a foot, "No! I won't stand by and let you get hit!" She fiercely whispered._

_Asa stood up, eyes dark and angry, "Miss Elizabeth, I must insist you stay out of this."_

_"But why?" Hot tears formed at the corners of her eyes, "Why, Asa?"_

_"Because I won't allow you to get hurt." Spinning away, Asa pushed Eliza aside, and quickly raced from the room, leaving the door ajar._

_She shut off the light, too upset to read any longer. Just like that, Asa was gone, and she was all alone. Eliza hadn't spent a night by herself since a year ago. Asa always sat at the foot of her bed until she fell asleep. The dark frightened her, and Eliza wished he was here right now, breath soft and even._

_Seeing shadows race across the ceiling, her grey eyes slowly shut and Eliza fell into a restless sleep._

_He avoided her for three more days after that. Every time Eliza tried to approach Asa, he stiffened up, pushing her away. He always said he was busy, but she knew better. He was trying to hide something from her, and Eliza wouldn't stand for it._

* * *

><p><em>One particular afternoon, Eliza cornered Asa in an empty hall, trapping him against a wall.<em>

_"Asa, tell me what is going on," Eliza demanded, watching his facial expression._

_Trying to push her aside, Asa's face remained set in a stoic expression, "Nothing, Miss."_

_She stepped in front of him, blocking his way out, "Tell me, Asa. Now. That's an order."_

_"No, Miss. I must be going,"_

_"No Asa! I won't let you walk away,"_

_He groaned, "Miss, please. I cannot…"_

_But Eliza stood her ground, "Asa, tell me now."_

_"No!"_

_"Yes!"_

_Finding no other way, Asa roughly pushed Eliza to the side, hitting her arm against the corner of a door frame._

_"Ow!" Eliza held her arm, angrily staring at her friend, "What was that for?"_

_"So you'd move, Miss," Asa walked away, shaking from the effort not to run back and apologize._

* * *

><p><em>He hadn't been delivering her books when he dropped off the handkerchiefs for her to embroider. Finding it strange that he didn't give her books, so Eliza decided to pluck up the courage and get some for herself. Quietly pushing open the door to her father's library, she beelined to the doctor's section. There were only a few books she hadn't read yet, and most of them were on very advanced topics, like surgery.<em>

_"What in the world- oh Elizabeth, it's you," Her father walked in voice booming._

_"Well, who did you think I was, Father?" Eliza questioned demurely._

_"Why are you taking my books, Elizabeth? They are a bit too graphic for a young lady like yourself."_

_Thinking fast, Eliza let out an airy laugh, "Father, I was just looking to see what my future husband might do. After all, a doctor would be a good match, don't you think?"_

_"Well, Elizabeth, I am quite glad that you are thinking about marriage. It's very important," Mr. Wallace chuckled._

_"Father," Eliza asked, tucking one of the books under her arm. "Was Asa in here a few days ago, looking at your books?"_

_"Yes, I think he was. Almost stole a few of them before I caught him. He had been hiding them under your embroidery. Very sneaky of the boy," Mr. Wallace shook his head._

_"And what did you do?"_

_"What anyone does to a serving boy who disregards the rules."_

_Eliza's blood ran cold. Putting on a very forced smile, she nodded to her father, and slipped out of the room as fast as she could._

* * *

><p><em>Pacing back and forth, Eliza was waiting for Asa to come. She knew that today was the day he would deliver her handkerchiefs. Hearing the knock, Eliza took a deep breath.<em>

_"Come in," She called, sitting on her bed, already in her dressing gown._

_Seeing the door open, she positioned herself towards him._

_"Hello, Miss. I have your handkerchiefs," He gestured to the large basket in his right arm._

_Standing, Eliza blinked, "Yes, thank you. Leave them over there. Now, may I ask for your advice?"_

_He nodded, "Whatever you need, Miss."_

_Running behind her folding screen, Eliza changed into a pretty pink gown. It was quite modern, what with short sleeves, and a slightly low cut top. Smoothing the ruffles, she stepped out in the room once more._

_"What do you think of this dress, Asa?" She asked, twirling in a circle._

_Trying not to stare, Asa moved his mouth, but no words came out._

_Batting her eyes, Eliza smiled, "You like it?"_

_"Ye-yes, Miss," He tried, and sighed in relief._

_"Why aren't you looking at me?" Eliza pressed._

_"It wouldn't be proper, Miss."_

_"Proper? Well, Asa, I asked you a question. It's 'proper' that you answer me truthfully."_

_Struggling internally, Asa looked at Eliza. She was gorgeous… Her hair was curled, lips dotted with a shiny pink gloss, and dress showing off her beautiful pale skin. Asa could keep staring at her forever. But tearing his eyes from her face, he blushed lightly._

_"You look lovely, Miss."_

_Moving a bit closer, she kept smiling, "I think pink's my color, is it not?"_

_Asa wasn't even thinking when he replied, "Definitely is, Miss."_

_"So, Asa, should I wear this to the Karlin family party this evening?"_

_"Which family is that?"_

_"You know. The family from Midtown who's little boy died earlier this year. Do you think this would be too flashy?"_

_"I think that you look lovely, Miss," he bowed._

_Taking a final step, Eliza was right next to Asa's ear, "I know what my father did to you. He was wrong. I swear, if he ever does that again, come to me. Please. If he catches you again, he'll dismiss you, and your family. So let me go get my own books. I don't know what I'd do without you."_

_He stood still for a split second, before grabbing Eliza's waist._

_"Asa-!" Eliza stopped talking, and sank into his kiss. This was the first time in four years he had kissed her, and it wasn't out of sheer childlike curiosity._

_Breaking off, Asa smiled, then his face went slack, "oh my god. I just… I'm dead… I just kissed…"_

_"It's okay… I won't tell anyone," Eliza murmured, and kissed him again, "Asa, I don't want to get married."_

_"I don't want you to either. But you have to… It's tradition," he responded, sitting on the stool she still practiced flute on, "and if there's something your family is adamant about, it's tradition."_

_Eliza let out a big sigh of disbelief, "Well, that's just peachy… I hate this stupid tradition! Why can't I marry who I want, not some stuck up bastard?"_

_Asa ran a hand through his dark hair, "I don't know. Honestly, Lizzie, I have no idea…"_

_"I'm meeting one of my suitors tonight at the Karlin's house… Mr. William Patterson is his name."_

_"Well, let us hope you don't find yourself smitten with Mr. Patterson." Asa grinned, tracing Eliza's hand with the tips of his fingers._

_She smiled happily, "No fear of that… There's only one young man who I find myself 'smitten' with. His name is Asa…"_

_"I think I've heard of the lad," Asa joked, "Seems to me he's head over heels for the daughter of his master."_

_Feigning surprise, Eliza opened her mouth, before Asa hugged her tightly, and kissed her cheek._

_"I have to go," He apologetically said, "Your father is expecting me to deliver his ties."_

_"Alright…" Eliza conceded, brushing a stray curl from her face, "And I have to finish dressing for the party. Going without shoes would be frowned upon."_

_Asa waved and ran off once again. Eliza smiled, setting her shoes onto her stocking covered feet._

* * *

><p><em>When she was fifteen, Eliza's life ended.<em>

_Coming into her room, an older Asa grinned. The sleeping form of Eliza stirred, and yawned._

_"Hey hey, Lizzie," He murmured, sitting beside her._

_"Asa?" Eliza mumbled, and her eyes lit up, "What are you doing here so early?"_

_He wrapped an arm around her waist, "I wanted to kiss you… And I thought early was better than late."_

_Giggling, she kissed Asa, then curled up in his arms. "You're such a hopeless case, Asa."_

_"Have you asked your parents yet?"_

_Eliza shook her head. "They've been so busy with William. Seriously, it's like I'm already engaged to him."_

_"Do you really want to marry him, Lizzie?"_

_"If I did, would I still be with you?" Eliza smiled._

_"Good," Asa got off the bed, getting down on one knee and pulling a silver band out of his pocket. Eliza stood up quickly._

_"Asa-"_

_"Relax, Lizzie," Asa smiled. "I don't wanna marry you, not yet anyway. But I want you to promise me. One day, when this is all over, you come back and find me. And then we get married. Promise."_

_Eliza nodded quickly, happy tears brimming her eyes. "Yeah. I promise."_

_Asa slipped the ring onto Eliza's hand before hugging her quickly and tightly, "I love you, Lizzie. More than anything…"_

_"I love you too, Asa. Never leave me," she sighed._

_"Where am I supposed to go?" He replied, winking. "Now, I gotta go take care of some stuff before Patterson gets over. Talk to your parents, okay?"_

_Fiddling with the ring, Eliza's brows furrowed, "I'll try. But they won't listen-"_

_Asa interrupted, "-then make them. I believe that you can help them see how much we matter to each other." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, sliding out of the room._

* * *

><p><em>"Mother?" Eliza stuttered, smoothing her skirt at the breakfast table. "Where is Father?"<em>

_"He is out right now. He had a meeting in Brooklyn, but he will be back for our dinner with Mr. Patterson tonight. Isn't he such a lovely young man, darling? Any day now, he will just pop the question!"_

_"Yes, Mother, that is actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Eliza cleared her throat. "I-don't-want-to-marry-Mr-Patterson."_

_"What was that, Eliza?" Mrs. Wallace asked, eyeing Eliza._

_"I don't want to marry Mr. Patterson, Mother. I don't…" She took a deep breath, "I don't love him. I love someone else…"_

_Aghast, her mother gasped, "Elizabeth Wallace! That is unacceptable!"_

_Eliza felt tears welling up in her eyes, "Mother, please, just listen to me! I-"_

_"It's the boy, isn't it?" Eliza stared at the floor, "Isn't it!"_

_"Yes! Fine!" Eliza screamed, beginning to cry. "It's Asa! I don't love William, I hate him! And I love Asa!"_

_Her mother was silent, before sighing, "Elizabeth. You may love Mr. Asa, but he's just an errand boy. If you cannot get over your feelings for him, we must dismiss him and his entire family from the household."_

_Eliza gasped. "Mother, you can't do that!"_

_"I will have to, Elizabeth! I do not want your chances at marrying a rich suitor ruined by a serving boy. I must dismiss them, if you cannot find a way to rid yourself of these feelings."_

_"Why can't you just let me be? I want to marry Asa! I want to become a doctor and do something with my life! I don't want to be like you!"_

_"Be quiet!" Mrs. Wallace screamed. "Elizabeth Angeline Wallace, I swear to God, if you don't pull your head out of the clouds and get down to earth, I will send away the family faster than you can say New York!"_

_Eliza stood statue still. Then, with tears rushing down her face, she stood up, her gray eyes flashing. "I hate you."_

_And she ran out._

_"Asa?" Eliza called, hoping he was around. And to her surprise, he was waiting right inside the doorway._

_"Lizzie! What did she say?" He asked, twirling her around, "Why, Lizzie… She made you cry?"_

_Sobbing into his shoulder, Eliza sniffled, "Y-yes. She said i-if I d-didn't get over-r my feelings for y-you, she'd have to dismiss y-your whole family."_

_Stopping cold, Asa somehow said, "What?"_

_"Yes. She said that… And- and that I must marry Patterson or else."_

_"Oh Lizzie," Asa held his crying companion close, "We'll get out of this, love."_

_"Love?" Eliza looked up at him through her tears._

_A half-smile graced his face, "I like it. Lizzie my love."_

_"Oh," She blushed, "I like it too, Asa my love."_

_Kissing her forehead softly, Asa whispered, "And don't you forget it."_

_Making up her mind, Eliza went over to her chest of drawers and pulled out a bronze ring. Holding out to Asa, she sat down. "Asa, keep this ring. And promise me the promise I made to you. That when we get out of this mess, you'll marry me."_

_"I promise a million times over," Asa hugged her as close as he could, "Forever and ever, I promise."_

_"I have an idea." Eliza handed him three dollars, "Go to the market and buy yourself a typewriter. So, when you're away, you can send me letters."_

_His eyes lit up, "Lizzie, you're brilliant. I'll be back before you know it."_

* * *

><p><em>But when he got back, the house was ripped apart. On the front steps, shattered glass was haphazardly thrown around. Feeling his heart rise into his throat, Asa moved into the front parlor.<em>

_Asa gripped the typewriter tightly under his arm, carefully stepping over pieces of wood and jagged glass shards that littered the floor._

_"Hello?" He set the typewriter on the chipped table in the front entryway. "Mama? Papa? Keelan?"_

_The living room was even more of a disaster. The sofa was tipped over, and chairs were destroyed. Two bodies lay in a limp heap in the middle of the room, one in a red burgundy dress, the other in a soiled, bloodstained suit._

_"Mr. Wallace, sir?" Asa ran to the bodies, turning them onto their backs, breathing hard. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace stared emptily at the ceiling, blood falling from their foreheads, and holes in each of their chests. "Oh my god!"_

_Keelan was in the drawing room. Her white apron was tinted red. Her forehead was marked by a hole right in the middle. Her eyes were closed._

_"Mama! Papa!" Asa screamed. There was no answer._

_He found them in the kitchen. His mother was holding a feather duster, and his father was lying in a pile of carrots and celery. The stove was still on. Asa rushed to turn it off._

_"No," He sobbed, shaking his parents, trying in vain to get them to move. "Wake up, please! Please, you have to wake up!"_

_He ran back to the main room, sobs racking his body. Where was Eliza? He rushed to the bottom of the staircase leading up to her room._

_"Eliza?" He called, his voice breaking. "Eliza where are you?" He heard a thumping sound upstairs, but it was quickly silenced. "NO!"_

_Asa fell to the floor, covering his head with blood-stained hands. The world seemed to be burning before his very eyes. "No," He whispered one last time, grabbing the typewriter, and running out of the house, not bothering to even close the door._

* * *

><p><em>Eliza watched him go from the cracked door in her bedroom, silent tears falling down her cheeks. The cold metal of a pistol pressed up against the back of her head.<em>

_"Come with me if you want to stay alive," A cruel voice whispered in her ear, yanking her out the door and onto the fire escape. "I wouldn't want to kill a pretty thing like you." His hands grasped her wrists, clicking on handcuffs, "Don't try to escape, darling. It won't end well." Shoving her down the steps, she looked back at her demolished home._

_"I love you," Eliza whispered, so quietly he hadn't heard her. "Forever and ever. I'll always love you, Asa."_

* * *

><p>Eliza was crying. When she heard a sniffle, she realized Stars was too.<p>

"I'm so sorry, Eliza," Stars whispered, hugging her with one arm. Eliza tensed up at first, still feeling guarded, but let down her defenses and hugged Stars back.

"It isn't your fault," Eliza shrugged. "I just wished I knew where he was now, you know?"

"What was his name?" Stars asked. "His full name, I mean."

"Oh, it was Asa Cain," She wiped away her tears. "He was Irish. Didn't look the way people say the Irish do. Didn't have the red hair."

"Asa Cain what?" Stars kindly gestured for her to continue, "He must've had a last name."

"Asa Cain Conlon," She smiled at the mention of him.

* * *

><p><strong>Well... that happened. Thanks to my fabulous beta, Miss CassieKeys for helping me write this chapter, it means a lot to me, love! Oh, and Asa's name Cain is pronounced "key-in" And let me know if you would like to hear more about Eliza and Asa's relationship in the future, because that was really fun to write! Anyways, please review and things! Until the next time, my dears! :)<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello! That was a very fast update, wasn't it? I've been so obsessed with this story that I needed to write more ASAP! I have a lot of things to say, but we;ll wait until the end of the chapter. So, I'll see you there!**

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><p>"Asa Cain Conlon," She smiled at the mention of him.<p>

Stars almost choked, "_C-Conlon_?"

Eliza looked strangely at her, "Yes, Conlon. Did you know him?"

"Did he ever go by another name? Does Spot ring a bell?"

Thinking before responding, Eliza matter-of-factly said, "That was the name of my dog. Asa helped me name him."

Excitedly and urgently, Stars shook Eliza with one hand, "What did he look like?"

"Short, curly dark hair, dark brown eyes. At least that's what he looked like then…"

Despite the situation, Stars laughed. A long, good, hard laugh. "Oh my god!"

Eliza looked very offended. "I don't exactly see what is what is funny about this!"

Stars' face broke into a rueful grin, "Sorry, it's just… Oh the irony… Yeah, I know him. And he ain't short no more."

Letting out a gasp of excitement, Eliza leaped up and spun around, "Really? Oh my god! Asa's alive!"

"I know!" Stars laughed along with her.

"What does he look like now?"

Stars sat up, "Well, now he's real tall. And got huge muscles."

"Muscles?" Eliza giggled, "Asa doesn't have muscles. He's scrawny."

"Scrawny, eh? Not anymore. They is pretty big. He must've worked out a lot in Brooklyn," Stars continued, flexing her arm in imitation of the boy.

Fanning herself, Eliza blushed, "Oh, Stars! I can't imagine Asa looking like that."

"And you'll be happy to know that your boyfriend has the name of a dog…"

Eliza giggled. "You're kidding!"

Stars shook her head quickly, grinning widely. "Now he goes by Spot Conlon. And he's a real scary fellow… So I've been told anyway."

"So you've been told? I thought you said you knew him?"

"Oh I do! And he ain't scary to me."

"What'd he do?"

"Um…" Stars laughed nervously. "Let's just say he's changed _a lot _since ya' knew him…"

"Changed?" Eliza's voice went up an octave, "What do you mean, 'changed'?"

"Well I think he's compensatin' for something but…" Stars muttered under her breath. "He's turned into the real player nowadays. The King of Brooklyn doesn't exactly stay down to one girl anymore, if ya' know what I'm sayin'."

"Gross!" Eliza made a face of disgust, before the true meaning of Stars's words came upon her, "Oh god… No. He- he said he'd be faithful to me forever!"

"I'm sorry, Lizzie," Stars whispered, putting a hand on Eliza's shoulder. She swatted it away.

"You don't get to call me that! Only-" Eliza chose her next words very carefully. "Only _Asa _ever got to call me that. And he's _dead_!"

"No he ain't! He's in Brooklyn, like I said!"

"That's not what I mean. Yes, Spot Conlon is in Brooklyn. He can have all of New York City for all I care! But Asa Conlon died the day I was taken here." Her voice broke, and a small tear fell from her eyes.

"Eliza, ya' can't do this to yourself. He'll change for ya', I know he will," Stars pursed her lips, "And if he don't, give him hell."

There was the clicking sound of the door being unlocked above the two girls. Eliza's eyes widened and she pushed Stars into a sleeping position.

"Pretend to be asleep. Now!" She stood and positioned a demure smile on her face, tucking her hands behind her back, "How can I help you, Mr. Patterson, sir?"

Stroking her cheek, he grinned in his malicious way, "Miss Elizabeth, darling, please go and fetch me breakfast." Moving towards the door, he had her arm, "And darling, we're having guests over for dinner. So be prepared to look your best, and _shut your mouth_."

Eliza nodded silently, going up the staircase. Stars watched her go, her dark eyes flashing angrily. "How have ya' struck so much fear into her that she's just become your slave?"

"Simple," William patted the side of Stars' face. "She doesn't do as I like, she dies. Now that I have you, I have no need for her anymore."

"Then why have ya' kept her alive?" Stars spat out. "Why not kill her like ya' did to Chris and the other one. That was you, wasn't it? You were the one who told Snyder to have Chris killed?"

He purred, "Well, Miss Lydia, you aren't as docile as she. And yes, I confess it, it was me who order Miss Christina's death. Pity. She was quite lovely."

"_Quite lovely_?" Stars sneered under her breath so Patterson couldn't hear.

And with fake warmth in his voice, William sighed, "And may I say, Miss Kydia, you would not tolerate my touch-" He put a hand on her head and she slapped it away, "-the way she can. Incredible how much a few death threats can change a person."

Feeling bile rise in her throat, Stars growled, "I think it's cruel, Patterson. That'd ya' would do that to a kind, innocent girl, and make her your slave."

"Well, Miss, it's very simple to do. Hold a gun to her head, tell her to be your servant, and like that," He snapped his fingers together, "You have a submissive, sweet thing who will do whatever I tell her."

Shocked, the girl didn't even blink as William smiled at her and continued, "Now, Miss. I need you to be silent this evening. If not," He squeezed her wounded arm, "There will be consequences."

Biting her lip after the pain that had just occurred, Stars turned away. William Patterson would _not _have the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"Now, Miss Lydia, your little friend will be down tonight. We're having guests, you know."

* * *

><p>Hearing high heels click down the stairs to the cellar, Stars saw a dressed up Eliza holding her cheek.<p>

"Eliza?" She uncertainly called. The girl's head popped up.

"It's not as bad as it looks, you know." Eliza sucked in a breath. "What hurts the most is this corset!"

Lighting a candle so Stars could see, she grimaced. It was a wine red gown, with fancy lace covering her arms. The waist was tightly cinched, and the skirt flowed down in pleats of silken cloth. The bodice plunged unusually low, and was very supportive. In all honesty, it made sweet Elizabeth look like a slut. She wore a black necklace, and matching patent leather heels. Face covered in makeup, she looked ashamed to be wearing such a revealing outfit.

"He made ya' wear this?" The dark haired girl gasped, "The nerve of him!"

Shaking her head, Eliza undid the tight strings in the back, "It's alright. I thought by friends he meant a nice couple, but he meant a large group of men, none of whom were married, nor had any manners. I have never been so embarassed in my life! They made me fetch drinks for them, and I swear that a few of the men stared at my chest the entire evening!"

Stars frowned, "Why the hell didn't Patterson stop 'em from lookin'?"

"I think that was the idea. For them to look at me in that way, I mean."

"That god-awful son of a-"

"-It's okay, Stars. At least he didn't hit me too hard after."

"Why would he hit you? Ya' played the part of obedient wife, after all."

Tears welled up in Eliza's eyes, "I wouldn't kiss him. He pulled me close after dinner and tried to- and I couldn't- but he did- and I pushed him away. Then he slapped me in front of all his friends. And- and they laughed. Then he kissed me again, and it was horrible."

Struggling to stand, Stars almost shouted, "What the hell? Why the- oh that guy has it comin'!"

"No… Don't! It'll only make it worse. For the both of us, Stars, keep quiet."

"Why can't ya' stand up to him?" Stars pounded the floor with her good hand, "C'mon, Eliza, don't be his slave!"

She began to cry, "I-I'll be killed if I refuse him. And then I'll never see Asa again. I _need_ to see him, even if he has changed. Because without him, I'm empty. I'll just be a pretty girl who will be submissive if one needs me to be."

Seeing her friend sob in such a way, Stars sighed, "Eliza, we're getting out of here. And when we do, I'm takin' ya' to see Spot Conlon if it kills me."

Rubbing her goosebump covered arms, Eliza nodded.

"Now let's get ya' changed." Stars saw a nightgown lying off to the side of the room and helped Eliza out of the revealing dress with one arm, "There we are."

Snuggling into one pile of blankets, Eliza shivered and cried herself to sleep while Stars tried to comfort her. After Eliza was asleep, the other girl watched the moonlight stream in through the small window in their cell. It wasn't bright, but it was pretty to watch it dapple along the floor.

"Race, I'm here. And I'm okay… But I need ya' to listen. Ya' can't just go searching for me. It's too dangerous. So I'll get in touch, somehow. I love ya', Race." Stars whispered to the star around her neck.

She knew Race couldn't hear her, but she needed to talk to him, whether he was really there or not. She could just imagine him grinning his crooked smile, and kissing her forehead. Imagine him hawking the headline loudly, not a care in the world. Imagine him ruffling Romeo's hair lovingly, and asking Jack where Katherine was.

_How was it possible to miss someone so much? _Stars wondered, _I mean, without him… That's what Eliza was talking about. Without Race, I'm empty._

Seeing Race in her mind's eye, other faces came into play, Romeo's in particular, "Oh, Romeo… I know you're probably scared right now. But I need ya' to be strong for me, can ya' do that? Race and the others will take care of ya', but I need ya' to stand up for yourself. Promise me you'll do that. Promise me."

She squeezed her pendant one last time, closing her eyes.

* * *

><p>When Stars woke, she saw Eliza's gray eyes hovering over her. Blearily yawning, she rubbed her eyes.<p>

"Whatcha doin'?" Stars grumbled, "Why ya' hoverin' over me like me mother?"

Eliza grinned, "Well, I was going to let you know that we can go out on the porch this morning."

"Really?" Stars sat up, "Patterson said so?"

"Yes! But only for ten minutes, so we gotta be fast, okay?"

Helping Stars stand, Eliza was already changed into her pink maids dress. The two girls made their way out to the porch, and William watched them carefully through the window. Smelling the fresh air, Stars exhaled loudly.

"Isn't it nice to be outside again?" Eliza sighed, "I love the feeling of sunshine."

Nodding, Stars watched the clouds puff gently across the sky, and hugged Eliza with one arm. The bright sunlight shone over her face. A single tear slid down her face. Today reminded her of the day she ran away from home. Stars was so vulnerable.

"How didja get him to let us go out here?" Stars asked, wiping away the tears.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Eliza made a forced smile, "I did him a favor."

"What favor?" She was nervous now, what did Eliza do?

"I promised next time any friends came over, I wouldn't resist him. I would- I would kiss him. I would do what he wanted."

Moving away, Stars gasped, "Eliza, no! Why?"

"I couldn't let you stay down there without fresh air. I just couldn't."

"Well, ya' didn't have to go and do that!"

"I did, Stars. I did." Eliza frowned slightly, "It's okay."

"It's not okay, Eliza! I can't let ya' do this to me, I-" Stars stopped, taking Eliza's arm. "Ya' gotta go."

"What are you talking about?" Stepping back, Eliza groaned, "Oh no. Oh no. You don't mean-"

"I do!" Stars said urgently. "Eliza, you've been here for too long as it is! Ya' gotta get outta here, and now's the time to!"

Eliza feverishly shook her head, "I can't just leave you here."

"Yes, ya' can, and ya' will," She held Eliza's hand. "Here's what ya' gotta do. Run to Lower Manhattan. Ask for Racetrack Higgins. Tell him I'm in trouble. He'll know what to do."

"Go to Lower Manhattan, ask for Racetrack Higgins, tell him you're in trouble. Got it. Any other messages?"

"There's a boy there, he's thirteen, and looks almost identical to me. Tell him," She took a deep breath. "Tell him I love him, and I'll be back soon,"

Stars gave Eliza a quick shove, and she lifted up her skirts and began to run. William looked up from his book, and rushed onto the front porch.

"Where's she running to?" Patterson growled.

"She's runnin' home," Stars whispered, not making a sound when William grabbed her by the arm and dragging her back inside.

* * *

><p><strong>And there we go! Next chapter will have the boys, and a bit of Eliza, her POV was really fun to write! Hopefully, that will be out by this weekend! Fingers crossed!<strong>

**Also, I HIT 100 REVIEWS! You guys literally have _NO _idea how much this means to me! When I first started writing IGM, I thought it was only going to be around 8 chapters or something, I never expected so many awesome people to read this! Thank you, dear fansies! Thank you ever so much! :D**

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hello my lovelies! Sorry, it's been awhile, but honestly, I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this chapter for a bit. So, you can thank Miss CassieKeys for getting me back on track... And for writing like half of this chapter. I love you, my dear!**

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><p>Her breath was growing shallow, and she saw a big brick building coming into view. The front door had peeling green paint just as Stars had described it. Boys were milling around outside, all different ages and heights.<p>

Seeing a tall Filipino boy, Eliza rushed up to him, "Where's Racetrack Higgins?"

Leaping into the air, he spun around and wouldn't speak. His eyes were wide and untrusting. Another boy came up behind him. This one had bright brown eyes and messy dark hair. He seemed to be the oldest, the way he carried himself.

"Who do ya' wanna see?" The boy asked.

"Racetrack Higgins," Eliza answered, confidence wavering.

"Oy! Race! Goil's here ta see ya'."

A sandy haired teen pushed hair back from his forehead, "'Ey. Who are ya'?"

Eliza looked at him, "Are you Racetrack?"

"Most of me friends call me Race. But yeah, I am he."

"Stars is in trouble. She needs your help. She said you'd know what to do."

His face went slack, "S-Stars?"

"Yes."

"She's okay?"

"For now. But we need to hurry. She told me to run, but s-she stayed with him and-"

"-And you let her stay?! What kind of friend are ya'?" Race lunged for her, before the tall leader held him back.

"I tried to convince her to run too, but she wouldn't go with me." Race glared at Eliza. She could tell he didn't trust her, but she stood her ground. "Look, she gave me those instructions, to find you and tell you she was in trouble. Now will you help me? Or will you let your girlfriend die?"

"What's your name?" The leader asked, pushing Race into the arms of the Filipino boy and a boy with glasses.

"Elizabeth Wallace. I was also kidnapped by William Patterson, the guy Stars was betrothed to before, you know, she ran."

Race seemed to have calmed down a bit, and fought his way free, "I know the guy. Now where the hell is Stars? Or are ya' leadin' us into a trap?"

Eliza rolled her eyes, "Dear lord, just trust me. I… I know Spot Conlon?"

The leader quirked an eyebrow, "Really? _You_ know Spot Conlon?"

"We're… old friends." Eliza tried, "And I don't think he'd be too happy to hear that one of his closest allies is questioning me, now would he?"

Piping up for the first time, the Filipino one scratched the back of his neck, "Spot Conlon's pretty scary, Jack. We should trust her."

Jack stared at Eliza before nodding approvingly, "Fine. Race, go scout out the place and bring back news. Tell us how many boys we gotta send to save Stars."

Race bobbed his head, "First, I gotta go get my pocketknife. Wanna be prepared. Come on in." He gestured for Eliza to follow him into what looked like a large common room.

"Race, what's going on?" A boy came down the staircase, rubbing his red eyes. Eliza could tell this boys had been crying heavily, though he was trying to hide it to the best of his ability.

"Nothin', Romeo," Race replied quickly. "Go back upstairs."

Eliza watched the young boy shrug and turn around before cutting in quickly. "You're her brother, right? Romeo… that's your name."

Romeo turned back to Eliza, nodding slowly. "Ya' know Stars? Ya' know where she is?"

"Yes, I was there with her. I was stuck there for much longer than she. Stars wasn't of any use to Patterson, and I was."

Romeo sniffled, "Whaddya mean?"

"I was much more submissive than your sister. I did what William wanted-" She gagged, "-Anything. So I could stay alive."

Jack lay a hand on her shoulder, "I'se is real sorry, Miss Elizabeth."

She shook her head, "It's alright. I regret what I've done, but now's not the time for regret. Now is the time to get Stars out of there before William hurts her."

Rubbing his nose, Romeo opened his mouth, and spoke, "What can I do?"

Race entered the room and shook his head, "Nothin', Romeo. Ya' need ta stay here and be safe."

"But I wanna help!" He insisted.

"Stars says she loves you." Eliza blurted out, "She wanted me to tell you that. That she loves you and she just wants to keep you safe."

"If she wants to keep me safe, then I gotta keep her safe too," Romeo wiped away his tears. "I'm comin' with ya'. Whether ya' like it or not."

* * *

><p>Stars wiped away the blood from her face, trying in vain to keep from crying. She refused to cry again. Not in front of him.<p>

William stood in front of her, watching her like she was so far below him. She wanted to spit in his face, or punch out his teeth, or knock him to the floor, but she couldn't.

She was starting to give up.

"Now," William threw down a mess of deep red fabric at her. "Are you going to be a good girl and listen this time?"

Stars didn't reply. She touched the fabric tentatively. It was clearly an expensive dress, and she knew what she was supposed to do while wearing it. She had seen Eliza in it many times before, and did not like the outcome.

"I have some guests coming over tonight, my love," William continued. "Why don't we give them a little show, the two of us?"

"You're sick," Stars breathed. Her head jerked to the side when William's hand came in contact with her cheek.

He grinned nastily, "And you're my wife. So you're going to put on this dress and act like the good little wife I know you can pretend to be."

Stars held back a scream of utter frustration, and stood to dress herself. William tossed a mirror, hairbrush, makeup, and pair of shoes at her feet.

"There. Now make yourself presentable."

After he exited, she wanted to throw up. This gown made her feel like a slut, and brushing out her curls felt like a sin. Stars was so proud of the rugged person she'd grown into, and this was like an insult, cleaning herself up for the man she despised.

Taking a once-over in the mirror, it was sickening. Stars couldn't tell who this girl was. It was her reflection, but a person altogether. _She_ didn't have such a prominent chest. _She_ didn't wear makeup or brush her hair. _She _didn't wear velvet heels. She tried to conceal her gender. She was unruly and natural. She wore shoes so broken in, they should be trash by now. This wasn't Stars at all.

This was someone else.

* * *

><p>When Stars felt prepared enough to walk into the dining room, her heart sank once again. Around the table were seven men, all of whom were at least three years older than her. But Stars almost cried out when her eyes found the two men on the end.<p>

_The Delancey brothers._

Morris and Oscar found her eyes and then looked down quickly. William grabbed her waist and pulled her to sit next to him forcefully.

"Darling, would you mind telling the men the good news?"

"Excuse me?" She forced out. William pretended to laugh, though Stars could feel his cold eyes burning into her.

"The good news, dearest," Stars's eyes widened as she felt a butter knife next to her stomach. "_Tell them you're pregnant._"

Gulping down a breath of air, Stars was shaking when she opened her mouth, then cleared her throat, "Oh… That news. I'm… I'm… I'm pregnant." She shivered as the words left her mouth. She'd expected to say those words someday, many more years from now. _Maybe sitting next to Race. _She thought, _At least I love him. And he would respect me, and love me back. Rather him then William Patterson._

"Congratulations." One of the men laughed, sloshing beer on his tie.

His friend nodded, "Yeah. How long did it take to get her to agree?"

William hugged Stars tightly, "It wasn't her that had to agree. It was me. She wanted to have a child for a while now."

Another man chimed in drunkenly, "Maybe it wasn't the baby she wanted." All the males laughed and elbowed one another, looking Stars up and down. But the Delancey brothers stayed silent. They seemed put off by the whole affair, and Morris swallowed noticeably.

Feeling the knife dig in once again, Stars stared at Patterson venomously. "_Now agree!_"

"Oh yes, I did want a child. Of course." She had to choke out the phrase. But the knife was still at her side, so she began to elaborate more. "And I was so glad it will be William's. He's-" Stars trembled, "-such a wonderful husband."

Oscar raised his voice, "William? May we speak with your _lovely wife_ alone?"

William stroked his chin, "Well, she's a little feisty on her own… But I suppose no harm could come of just a _chat_. Dear, just pull up your bodice. I don't feel alright with you showing them men that much. That's only what _I_ get to see."

Stars blushed furiously. The group chortled and Morris and Oscar rose from the table, as Stars gave them a look so frigid, it made an ice cube look warm.

Once they were alone in the hallway, Stars' cold demeanor melted away. She collapsed into Morris' arms, sobbing as quietly as she could.

"Take me away from here," She whimpered. "Take me back. _Please_."

"I'm sorry, Stars," Morris soothed, smoothing down her hair comfortingly. "I'm so sorry."

"That other girl, Eliza, is at the lodging house," Oscar added. "The boys are takin' care of her. She's safer."

"And the boys? How are they?" Stars tried in vain to wipe away the constant stream of tears falling down her face.

"Romeo is doing well enough, considering the circumstances. He's gone selling practically every chance he could." Morris told her. "Race…"

"We haven't seen Race in a few days…" Oscar supplied. "He hasn't gone selling at all this past week. Jack said he didn't come back to the lodging house about three days ago."

"No one knows where he is?" Stars asked. "Are ya' sure nobody's seen him? The other boroughs? Has anybody searched them? How about Queens? Harlem?"

The brothers exchanged a look, "Well-" Oscar began.

"-We looked in other places. Except Brooklyn. Spot told us nothin'." Morris finished, squeezing Stars's hand for support.

She was about to continue, before Oscar shushed her, "We can deliver news to you every few days or so, but nothing suspicious. We'll be writing as... 'your Aunt Lucinda,' talking about her sons, okay?"

"Okay."

There came a thumping noise, and William appeared, "Sweetness, I miss your presence. Would you mind joining us back at the table now?" He shot the brothers a suspicious glare, but then smiled.

"Of course, _honey_." Stars spat, pasting a painful grin on her face once more.

The fat bearded man in the middle traced her body with his eyes, and she almost retched. It was disgusting, being looked at as if she were an object. _This must have been so awful for Eliza. I've got thicker skin… She should never have been forced to do this. Eliza was _too _obedient to this horrible man._

She nodded goodbye to the Delancey brothers, slipping into the kitchen. Stars slid down the wall, her head in her arms. This was going to be a _very _long night.

* * *

><p><strong>My poor babies. My poor, poor babies. I always wonder why I continue to hurt all of the characters. What did they ever do to me? Anyways, please review, and check out some of CassieKeys' stories too if you want a good read. Until next time!<strong>

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29. Or, as I like to call it, revealed secrets and a whole lot of crying! So... enjoy...**

* * *

><p>He promised Romeo that he was only going to be gone one night, that he thinks he knows where Stars might have been taken to. Romeo begged to go with him, she was <em>his <em>sister after all, but Race had put his foot down.

"I don't want another Karlin disappearin' on my watch," Race had said while slipping too small boots onto his feet. "I'll be back by the time ya' wake up, kid. I promise," Race pulled the threadbare sheets up over Romeo's thin frame. "G'night."

"I'll see ya' in the mornin'," Romeo mumbled, curling up into a ball, his head turned to Race. Romeo heard him sigh softly, followed by the sound of creaking floorboards.

When Romeo woke up, Race's bed was still empty.

"Race?" He asked groggily, kicking tangled sheets off of his legs and stepping out onto the cold floor. Romeo pulled his clothes on quickly, struggling to get his own boots on. He checked the bathroom. It was empty. He tried downstairs. It was empty too.

"He never came back," A voice behind him said. Romeo turned around. Eliza, dressed in some of Henry's old clothing, tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Sorry," She apologized. "I didn't mean to bother you."

"Ya'-Ya' didn't," Romeo replied. "How'd ya' sleep?"

"I couldn't," Eliza admitted. "Every time I closed my eyes, I could just see… _him_." She shuddered. Romeo instinctively wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Romeo whispered. "He shouldn't have done that to ya'."

"But now he's doing it all to Stars," Eliza responded softly. "Because I couldn't convince her to come with me."

"Stars never liked to listen to anyone. She's like one of the newsies in New York…" Romeo's eyes widened, running down the stairs. "I know where Race went!"

"Where?" Eliza asked, shoving her shoes on and running after Romeo.

"To the scariest newsie in New York!"

"Who's that?"

"We're goin' to Brooklyn! Spot Conlon's turf!"

Behind him, Romeo could hear Eliza whisper, "Asa…"

* * *

><p>Romeo took a deep breath and knocked on the large factory door that acted as the Brooklyn Lodging House. As it opened, a burly newsie who raised an eyebrow, scowling.<p>

"Whatcha doin' here, squirt?" Romeo stepped backwards, taken aback by the newise's rough voice.

"I'm here-" He squeaked, then cleared his throat, "I'm here to see Spot Conlon. I was sent by Jack Kelly. We're lookin' for someone."

The boy curled his lip and flexed his muscles threateningly, "Jack Kelly? Then who's she? Kelly wouldn't let his squeeze outta his sight." The boy pointed to Eliza, who had insisted on joining Romeo.

Eliza straightened her back, "I'm most certainly not Jack Kelly's 'squeeze'. I do know Spot Conlon personally though. I don't think he would like you holding up his guests."

Romeo's eyes widened. He didn't expect Eliza to be so forward. He hadn't known her longer than a few days, but she didn't seem like the type to speak up. He thought she was soft-spoken and sweet. She was, but this situation brought out a different side of her. Eliza was beginning to act more like Stars would.

The burly boy grunted, "Fine. But the girl stays out of Spot's room. He don't want any goils in there, excepting the ones he brings in. Just you, squirt."

Eliza was angered at the part about 'the ones he brings in', but nevertheless, she kept a look of cool collected air about her. _Don't act hurt. Just keep up this calm act until you see Asa. You'll see Asa soon. _She thought. _You'll see Asa soon, and then you'll be happy. _

Looking at Eliza, then back at the large newsie, Romeo nodded, gulping nervously. "Then show me to Conlon's room."

* * *

><p>Spot Conlon was staring out his window, tapping letters out on a clunky typewriter. The paper read-<p>

_Dear Lizzie,_

_I'm not sure why I can't stop thinking about you. It's been awhile since… the incident. Every single day I wonder if I had stayed, would I be with you? Or would you be alone up there? So much of me hurts. I say it's the street fights… But I know what it really is. You're gone. There's a hole in my heart I've been trying to fill with power, but it doesn't help. I wish you were-_

He stopped short, sensing that he was no longer alone, "Relic. Who dija let in this time? Manhattan kid?" Then Spot saw Romeo, "Yep. Manhattan…"

Relic frowned, "He said Kelly sent him. And that it was important."

"Well, who'd Jacky boy send?"

Romeo stepped into the room slowly, taking in his surroundings. He had never been this close to Spot Conlon without fear tingling in his bones. But now, the leader of Brooklyn was a little less terrifying, threadbare shirt, messy hair and cap. Conlon's eyes were sleepless and tormented. He almost looked… human…

"Oh. You'se is the Romeo kid. What does the great Jack Kelly want with me?" Spot spread his arms, seeming _very _annoyed for being interrupted at whatever he had been doing.

The smaller boy scratched his head, "Well… We'se is lookin' for a kid. Racetrack Higgins. Ya' know where he is?"

Spot shrugged, "I got nothin', kid. No Racetrack here."

"He's gotta be! We've looked everywhere else."

"And why would I tell ya' anyways. Ya' ain't got anythin' to offer me, do ya'?"

Romeo suddenly had an idea, "Actually, I do have somethin' ya' want. Elizabeth Wallace? I have information on her."

"Lizzie," Romeo barely heard Spot say anything.

"Yeah… Lizzie…ya' know her, right?"

Spot's eyes darkened, "How'd ya' know bout Lizzie? She's dead! Who said anythin'?" He rounded on Relic, "you told him?"

"No! Nobody told me anything. She isn't dead, Spot. She's just been gone for awhile. Just tell me what ya' know about Race's whereabouts, and ya' can see her."

"L-Lizzie's _here_?" Spot choked out.

Romeo nodded. "She's downstairs."

Spot seemed to push his feelings down for a second. "Alright, lover boy. Gimme something on Race to tell the others; I can spare a few boys to take a look around."

"Ya' really don't know where he is?"

"I'm sorry, kid. No."

"Okay…" Romeo breathed in slowly. "Well, as ya' know, he's got sandy hair, and… and bright blue eyes. Always chewin' on a cigar all adult like." Romeo tried for more description on his almost brother. "Race is scrawny too. Lanky, taller than me, but shorter than ya'. And… he's gonna be lookin' for a dark haired girl with a star shaped necklace."

Conlon tapped his chin, "He's lookin' for Stars… Relic!" He barked. The burly boy jumped, "Take a few boys to find Higgins, but be back here by tomorrow."

Romeo sighed in relief. "Thanks, Spot. Eliza's downstairs. Wait here."

Spot suspiciously nodded, "Fine. Relic, watch him. Make sure no funny business is goin' on."

As he exited into the hallway, Eliza was pacing, her breathing sounded shallow and quick. "Eliza," Romeo whispered, "Are you ready?"

She twisted her fingers nervously, "I think I've changed my mind, Romeo. Let's go back to the house..."

"Ya' don't gotta be scared, Miss Eliza."

Then, Eliza grasped his hand. Romeo could feel it tremble. "Thank you. For everything."

He smiled encouragingly, and squeezed her hand. "It's okay. Go in."

Eliza took a deep breath and pushed open the door. She saw a handsome young boy standing by a window. He had Asa's dark curly hair, but that's where the resemblance stopped. _This _boy isn't short and thin, he's tall and wiry. _This _boy didn't look fearful and bashful, he looked strong and powerful.

The boy turned, and Eliza gasped. Asa's eyes had been hopeful, and they used to twinkled when he spoke. This young boy's eyes were haunted and filled with darkness, like hope had been stolen from him.

"A-Asa?" Eliza stared at the boy in front of her. He was lean and muscular with slightly curly dark brown hair and brown eyes that flashed coolly. He stood straight with his arms crossed, holding himself with a certain kind of air Eliza didn't recognize. The other newsies had been right, she didn't know this boy. This boy was Spot Conlon.

But he was not her Asa.

"Lizzie…" The boy's strong demeanor faltered, staring at Eliza with wide, almost terrified eyes. She noticed him fiddling nervously with something around his neck. Eliza slowly moved closer to him, watching the boy carefully.

The boy was wearing a rusting chain. He had been holding onto a ring that hung just below his collarbone. Eliza recognized the ring. She had given the same ring to her beloved Asa a very long time ago.

"Asa," Eliza repeated as if trying out a word she had never said before. The boy broke into a grin, taking a step towards Eliza. She ran faster, falling into his embrace.

"Lizzie," Asa whispered into Eliza's hair. She could tell he was crying. She realized she was too. And she didn't care.

* * *

><p>The cellar was cold and dark. Race understood why Jack hadn't enjoyed being down there, even if it was only for a little while. It was dank and dusty with only one oil lamp illuminating the room creepily. Race shuddered. He had already been down here for long enough. He had waited long enough.<p>

The door above him opened. Two figures ran down the stairs, the steps creaking underneath their weight. Race could barely see their faces in the dim light.

"Well," said Race expectantly, "didja' find her?"

The Delancey brothers shuffled nervously. "Where've you been, Race? People have been lookin' for you," It was Morris who had spoken. "Romeo's real worried."

"Lookin' for me?" Race scoffed. "_I'm _not the one they should be lookin' for. Besides, I told Jojo to let Jack know where I was."

"To be fair, you made a mistake in askin' Jojo," Race was pretty sure that Oscar was smiling slightly. "Since when has he ever done what someone asked him to?"

"That ain't the point!" Race took a deep breath. "Didja' find her or not?"

Morris sighed, "Yeah, Race. We found her?"

"Where is she then? Is she alright?"

"Race, calm down," Oscar said seriously. "I think you're gonna wanna sit down."

"Where is she? Why didn't ya' take her with ya' when ya' found her?"

"We couldn't, Race. We tried to, but we just couldn't."

"Why not!"

"Race!" Oscar whispered sharply, shutting Race up. "Stars told us some pretty bad stuff. We don't know if it's true or not, but it isn't good."

Race sat down on the flat boards of the printing press. "What happened?"

"Race," Morris looked very solemn, "Stars said that she's pregnant." Race froze. Stars was _pregnant_? What had that bastard done to her?

Emotions were bubbling up inside of Race, he couldn't pick out just one that he was feeling. Anger, betrayal, sadness, disgust… The list continued. "I… uh…"

"Race," Oscar warned. "For your sake, and for _hers_, don't do anything you're gonna regret."

Race's blue eyes darkened. "I have to go."

He pushed past the Delancey brothers. "Race, wait! You need to stop and think for a second!"

"No," Race muttered. "I don't."

* * *

><p>Once the last of the disgusting guests had left, Stars collapsed on the basement floor. She hugged herself tightly, whispering nonsensical yet comforting words to herself.<p>

"Well," William said brightly, "I think that was just a lovely evening, don't you, Miss Lydia?"

Stars glared at him, "Why didja' make me say I was _pregnant_ of all things?"

"Because, my darling, I wanted to prove a little something to you."

"And just what was that?" She spat.

William leaned down close to her face. Stars could feel his hot breath on her neck. "That I own you." He picked her up forcefully by a handful of her hair, dragging her up the stairs.

"Let go of me!" Stars struggled against him. "Lemme go!"

William flung her to the ground, ripping off her necklace and tossing it aside. "We have somewhere to go now, my love. And something to talk about."

"Talk? What about?"

"Your bastard of a brother, my dear."

Stars flew at him. "Don't you _ever _call Matthew that again!"

"Why not, Miss Lydia?" William grinned evilly. "That's what he is."

Stars stopped struggling. "Whaddaya' talkin' about?"

"All in good time, my love. All in good time," William took Stars' arm. "Now come. It's time to change locations."

* * *

><p><strong>Crying? Ready to slap William? Ready to slap <strong>**_me_****? Lemme know with a review!**

**Newsies forever, second to none!**


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